Low body temperature and mortality in older patients with frailty in the emergency department
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Janne Alakare1,2, Kirsi Kemp3, Timo Strandberg4,5
1Department of Emergency Medicine and Services, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. janne.alakare@espoo.fi.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to assess the association between low body temperature and mortality in frail older adults in the emergency department (ED).
Methods:
Inclusion criteria were: ≥ 75 years of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score of 4-8, and temperature documented at ED admission. Patients were allocated to three groups by body temperature: low ≤ 36.0 °C, normal 36.1-38.0 and high ≥ 38.1. Odds ratios (OR) for 30-day and 90-day mortality were analysed.
Results:
1577 patients, 61.2% female, were included. Overall mortalities were 85/1577 (5.4%) and 144/1557 (9.2%) in the 30-day and 90-day follow-ups, respectively. The ORs for low body temperature were 3.03 (1.72-5.35; P < 0.001) and 2.71 (1.68-4.38; P < 0.001) for 30-day and 90-day mortality, respectively. This association remained when adjusted for age, CFS score and gender. Mortality of the high-temperature group did not differ significantly when compared to the normal-temperature group.
Conclusions:
Low body temperature in frail older ED patients was associated with significantly higher 30- and 90-day mortality.
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