No impact of weather conditions on the outcome of intensive care unit patients.

Raphael Romano Bruno,Johanna M Muessig,Marcus Franz,Rene Schiffner,Bernhard Wernly,Malte Kelm,Maryna Masyuk,Christian Schulze,Christian Jung,Laura Bäz

doi:10.1007/s10354-021-00830-0

Abstract

Global warming leads to increased exposure of humankind to meteorological variation, including short-term weather changes. Weather conditions involve changes in temperature, heat and cold, in air pressure and in air humidity. Every single condition influences the incidence and mortality of different diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. This study investigated the impact of weather conditions on short- and long-term mortality of 4321 critically ill patients (66 ± 14 years, 2638 men) admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) over a period of 5 years. Meteorological information (air temperature, air pressure and humidity) for the same period was retrieved. The influence of absolute weather parameters, different seasons, sudden weather changes including “warm” and “cold” spells on ICU and long-term mortality was analyzed. After correction for Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS-2), no impact of meteorological conditions on mortality was found. Different seasons, sudden weather changes, “warm spells” or “cold spells” did not affect the outcome of critically ill patients.Supplementary InformationThe online version of this article (10.1007/s10354-021-00830-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

The present study investigates whether these observations could be reproduced in patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU)
Several external parameters can influence the outcome of patients who are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU)
The primary endpoint of this study was the impact of meteorological parameters and sudden weather changes—defined as a sudden change in temperature, air pressure, and humidity—on all-cause ICU mortality

Summary

Introduction

Several external parameters can influence the outcome of patients who are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). The change in climate conditions of the admission hour compared to 24 h before, for temperature, air pressure, and humidity was calculated. The primary endpoint of this study was the impact of meteorological parameters and sudden weather changes—defined as a sudden change in temperature, air pressure, and humidity—on all-cause ICU mortality.

Results

Conclusion