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Urban hypothermia in the west of Scotland

^a Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley, Renfrewshire PA2 9PL, ^b Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh EH3 9YW, ^c Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, ^d Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G4 0SF, ^e Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Monklands District General Hospital, Airdrie, Lanarkshire ML6 0JS, ^f Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow G42 9TY, ^g Department of Accident and Emergency Medicine, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow G51 4TF

Correspondence to: Mr Wyatt.

To our knowledge, the epidemiology of hypothermia in Britain is unknown: there have been no studies in a large population. Concerns about risks of hypothermia in socially isolated elderly people have resulted in calls for efforts aimed at prevention.¹ Controversy about the increased cost of fuel have added to these concerns.²

Patients, methods, and results

Patients presenting to hospital in Glasgow, Paisley, Coatbridge, or Airdrie with rectal temperatures below 35°C were studied prospectively during the winter of 1993-4 (1 December to 31 March). All eight accident and emergency departments serving a continuous, defined urban population participated. Accident and emergency staff and ambulance crews collected data. Patients' relatives, . . . [Full text of this article]

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