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Impact of dangerous microclimate conditions within an enclosed vehicle on pediatric thermoregulation

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Abstract

Pediatric vehicular hyperthermia (PVH) persists as the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths among US children with an average of 37 children dying after being left unattended in motor vehicles each year. Our study aims to demonstrate the microclimate conditions within an enclosed vehicle that lead infants and small children to reach key physiological heat thresholds: uncompensable heating (>37 °C) and heatstroke (>40 °C) under “worst case” conditions. A modified version of the Man-Environment Heat Exchange Model was used to compute the length of time for an infant to reach these thresholds. Several different scenarios were modeled using different initial cabin air temperatures. Assuming full sun exposure and maximum heating rates, an infant may reach uncompensable heating within 5 min and experience hyperthermia anywhere from 15 to 55 min depending on the starting cabin air temperature. The rapid approach of these heat-related thresholds occurs as enclosed vehicles maximize heating and minimize cooling mechanisms, leading to net heating and increase in core body temperatures. Health experts can use this information to support public health messaging on the topic of PVH by explaining why it is important to never leave a child alone in a car and increase the public perception of severity and susceptibility to this ongoing public health issue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Climatology Research Laboratory, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Andrew Grundstein

  2. Trauma Services, Dell Children’s Medical Center, Austin, TX, USA

    Sarah Duzinski

  3. Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA

    Jan Null

Authors
  1. Andrew Grundstein
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  2. Sarah Duzinski
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  3. Jan Null
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Correspondence to Andrew Grundstein.

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Grundstein, A., Duzinski, S. & Null, J. Impact of dangerous microclimate conditions within an enclosed vehicle on pediatric thermoregulation. Theor Appl Climatol 127, 103–110 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-015-1636-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-015-1636-2

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