A new study published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research International explored the heat-related illnesses (HRIs) types and patient characteristics among a sample taken from various representative in-field points, in the Hajj season. 

This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in 2018 at 80 data collection points distributed in the field. 

Overall, 231 individuals fulfilled the criteria of HRIs spectrum and were included. Approximately, 6% of these had heat stroke (HS) and 20% had heat exhaustion (HE). All HS cases were from outside of Saudi Arabia, compared with 72.5% diagnosed with HE. Additionally, 16% were detected with heat-induced muscle spasms and 7% had limb heat edema. While most of HRIs cases were reported between 11 am and 1 pm. The HRIs diagnostic tree model gave a diagnostic accuracy of 93.6%. 

In inference, it was stated that this study highlights the magnitude of HRIs among pilgrims in Hajj and provides a diagnostic tree that can aid in risk stratification and diagnosis of these patients. More efforts are needed to educate these vulnerable groups.

Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research International. 2021 Jan 3 : 1–8. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-12154-4