A new study published in Current Medical Issues reported arising trend in the number of people exposed to heat waves worldwide from 2000 to 2016, by around 125 million. The susceptibility of a individual to heat related injury depends on – the person’s body constitution, their environment and their workload. Exertional hyperthermia (EH) and exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) are potentially life-threatening conditions—which precipitate from increased heat stress.

The symptoms can be vague and overlapping, such as – confusion, headache, vomiting and even coma. The management of these two conditions is extremely different, and diagnosis can be challenging, especially in low-resource settings.

This article summarized:

• EH and EAH are medical emergencies.
• Management of these conditions is very difficult and relies upon checking the patient′s core temperature and serum fluid-electrolyte balance and sodium level.
• When checking of serum sodium level is not feasible, fluids should only be given if a patient is hypotensive.
• Following appropriate resuscitation and stabilization, prompt medical evacuation to definitive care is essential, so that casualties can have appropriate investigation and ongoing management.
• Intensive care unit level care may be required in severe cases.

Source: Current Medical Issues. 2021;19:165-70