A Literature Review on the Impact of Wildfires on Emergency Departments: Enhancing Disaster Preparedness

• Published in: Prehospital and disaster medicine Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 657 - 664
• Main Authors: Skinner, Richard, Luther, Matt, Hertelendy, Attila J., Khorram-Manesh, Amir, Sørensen, Jarle, Goniewicz, Krzysztof, Ranse, Jamie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.10.2022; Jems Publishing Company, Inc
• Subjects: Anestesi och intensivvård; Anesthesiology and Intensive Care; Arson; bushfir; Climate Change; Clinical outcomes; Data analysis; Data collection; Databases, Factual; Disasters; Editorials; emergency department; Emergency medical care; Emergency preparedness; Emergency Service, Hospital; Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa och socialmedicin; Forest & brush fires; Global climate; Global warming; Health risks; Hospitals; Humans; Keywords; literature review; Literature reviews; Medical Subject Headings-MeSH; Meta-analysis; Native peoples; Nitrogen dioxide; Particulate matter; Patient admissions; Pollutants; Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine; Search engines; Search strategies; Subject heading schemes; Systematic Review; United States; Vegetation; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Weather; Wildfires; United States; North Carolina; New York; United States > US; Victoria Australia; California; Australia; Maryland; smoke; emergency department; literature review; bushfire; wildfire
• ISSN: 1049-023X; 1945-1938; 1945-1938
• DOI: 10.1017/S1049023X22001054

Global climate change (global warming) has been identified as the primary factor responsible for the observed increase in frequency and severity of wildfires (also known as bushfires in some countries) throughout the majority of the world's vegetated environments. This trend is predicted to continue, causing significant adverse health effects to nearby residential populations and placing a potential strain on local emergency departments (EDs). The aim of this literature review was to identify papers relating to wildfires and their impact on EDs, specifically patient presentation characteristics, resource utilization, and patient outcomes. This integrative literature review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for data collection, and Whittemore and Knafl's framework for data analysis. Data were collected from OvidSP, MEDLINE, DARE, CINAHL, PubMed, and Scopus databases. Various Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and keywords identified papers relevant to wildfires/bushfires and EDs. Literature regarding the relationship between ED presentations and wildfire events, however, is primarily limited to studies from the United States and Australia and indicates particulate matter (PM) is principally linked to adverse respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes. Observable trends in the literature principally included a significant increase in respiratory presentations, primarily with a lag of one to two days from the initial event. Respiratory and cardiovascular studies that stratified results by age indicated individuals under five, over 65, or those with pre-existing conditions formed the majority of ED presentations. Key learnings from this review included the need for effective and targeted community advisory programs/procedures, prior to and during wildfire events, as well as pre-event planning, development, and robust resilience strategies for EDs.