TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Difference in the characteristics of mortality reports during a heatwave period: retrospective analysis comparing deaths during a heatwave in January 2014 with the same period a year earlier
JO  - BMJ open
A1  - Pham, Tony
A1  - Young, Caitlin
A1  - Woodford, Noel
A1  - Ranson, David
A1  - Young, Carmel M. F.
A1  - Ibrahim, Joseph E.
SP  - e026118
EP  - e026118
VL  - 9
IS  - 5
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics of deaths reported to the Coroners Court of Victoria (CCOV) during Victoria's last heatwave (14-17 January 2014) and subsequent 4 days (18-21 January) using medicolegal data obtained from both the police investigation report and the pathologist's report. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A single-jurisdiction population-based retrospective analysis of consecutive heat-related deaths (HRDs) reported to the CCOV between 14 and 21 January 2014 with a historical comparison group. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive statistics were used to summarise case demographics, causes of death and the types of investigations performed. The cases from 2014 were subgrouped into HRD and non-HRD. <br><br>RESULTS: Of the 222 cases during the study period in 2014, 94 (42.3%) were HRDs and 128 (57.7%) were non-HRDs. HRDs were significantly older than non-HRDs (70.5 years: SD=13.8 vs 61.0 years: SD=22.4, t(220)=3.60, p<0.001, 95% CI 4.3 to 14.6). The most common primary cause of death in HRDs was circulatory system disease (n=57, 60.6%), which was significantly higher when compared with non-HRDs (n=39, 30.5%; χ<sup>2</sup>=20.1, p<0.001, OR 3.5, 95% CI 2.0 to 6.2). HRDs required significantly greater toxicology investigation (89.4% (n=84) vs 71.9% (n=92); χ<sup>2</sup>=10.9, p<0.001, OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.54 to 7.03) and greater vitreous biochemistry testing (40.4% (n=38) vs 16.4% (n=21); χ<sup>2</sup>=16.0, p<0.001, OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.9 to 6.5). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: A heatwave places a significant burden on death investigation services. The inclusion of additional laboratory tests and more detailed circumstantial information are essential if the factors that contribute to HRDs are to be identified.<br><br>© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2044-6055
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026118
ID  - ref1
ER  -