An Overview of Thunderstorm-Associated Asthma Outbreak in Southwest of Iran

The aim of this study was to report the characteristics and treatment strategies of all patients with acute bronchospasm who were presented to the emergency departments of Ahvaz, Iran, following the occurrence of a thunderstorm on November 2, 2013. A total of 2000 patients presenting with asthma att...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2014-01, Vol.2014 (2014), p.117-120
Main Authors: Asgari Darian, Ali, Feli, Maryam, Tirandaz, Fatemeh, Idani, Esmaeil, Haddadzadeh Shoushtari, Maryam, Masoumi, Kambiz, Forouzan, Arash, Assarehzadegan, Mohammad Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Asthma
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - etiology
Cities - epidemiology
Disease Outbreaks - statistics & numerical data
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency Service, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Iran - epidemiology
Male
Middle Aged
Thunderstorms
Weather
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:The aim of this study was to report the characteristics and treatment strategies of all patients with acute bronchospasm who were presented to the emergency departments of Ahvaz, Iran, following the occurrence of a thunderstorm on November 2, 2013. A total of 2000 patients presenting with asthma attacks triggered by thunderstorm were interviewed and an initial questionnaire was completed for each individual. After twenty days, patients were asked to complete a supplementary questionnaire, but only 800 of them accepted to do so. The majority of subjects was aged 20–40 years (60.5%) and had no history of asthma in most cases (60.0%). The symptoms had started outdoors for 60.0% of the participants. In most patients, the onset of the condition was on November 2. Short-acting β2-agonist (salbutamol) and aminophylline were the most commonly prescribed medications in the emergency department. Upon the second interview, 85.3% of the patients were still symptomatic. Overall, 63.6% did not have a follow-up visit after hospital discharge, although all of them were referred to the specialist. The findings of the present study suggest that thunderstorm-associated asthma could affect young adults with no gender priority, with or without asthma history, which put a strain on emergency medical services.
ISSN:1687-9805
1687-9813
DOI:10.1155/2014/504017