Pat Shingleton for July 9, 2012

The British Medical Journal reports emergency room visits for children increase as temperatures increase. Authors of the study, which appeared in an online edition of the Emergency Medicine Journal, based their research on patterns of hospital treatments in 21 emergency rooms throughout England between 1996 and 2006. As noted in a previous column, their data found with every 5-degree increase in temperature, admissions increased for children. A drop in temperature by 5 degrees increased adult admissions by 3 percent while increasing snowfall elevated the admissions to 8 percent. The authors studied trauma units in various locations for an extended period of time, recognizing a relationship between recorded weather and trauma admissions. This analysis could better prepare hospital staff for changes in admission rates. Fastcast: Stormy.