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14
Hypothermia
in Hospital
Admissions
The survey stemmed from work in 1965 by the Royal College
of Physicians which investigated the incidence of hypothermia
in hospital admissions. It was found, among other things, that
0.68% of all patients admitted to hospital during the winter
months had temperatures below 95°F and that 47 out of their
126 hypothermic patients died. Persons over the age of 75
were a particularly vulnerable group.
Hypothermia
In the
Community
Design of
Survey
Results
It appeared obvious that if 0.68% of the patients admitted
to hospital suffered from hypothermia then there must be a considerable
number of undetected cases in the community and that
an attempt should be made to define their characteristic!.
20 Redbridge residents aged 75 and over were selected at
random during the end of the months January, February and
March making a total of 60 (later reduced to 59) each of whom
took part in the survey for one calendar month. A questionnaire
was completed In respect of each participant and district
nurses recorded body temperature's and maximum and minimum
bedroom and living room tempera cures every day for a month.
31 (52.5%) of the participants had a body temperature of
95 °F or below on one or more occasions. 11 out of the 31 were
hypothermic on 10 or more occasions. The minimum bedroom
and living room temperatures were significantly lower in hypothermic
Individuals compared with normals. Because of the
small number of participants no firm conclusions could be
reached on the significance of various factors such as diet,
type of heating and medical condition but interesting pointers
towards the type of questions which should be asked in future
surveys were evident.
The main discovery made was that old people's body
temperatures are extremely variable. It had been advised previously
that an old person with a temperature below 95° F was
probably in danger and should be warmed slowly. However, all
of the hypothermic old people visited were in apparently good
health and complaining cheerfully of being a little cold but
nothing else. Appetite, mobility and mental alertness seemed
unimpaired and in all cases it was decided that no treatment
was necessary.
Obviously a great deal more work must be done on this
subject and this should be directed towards the rate of rewarming,
the type of heating, diet, medical conditions and life
expectation of hypothermics compared with normal individuals.
I am grateful to the elderly people who took part in the
survey and to the district nurses who willingly accepted the