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Kids in Hot Cars Jami Rothman, BS Leaving a child in a parked car on a warm day can be a deadly error. And with summer upon us again, it’s time to take this message back to families and public officials in hopes of preventing needless tragedies. The National SAFE KIDS campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of unintentional childhood injuries, estimates at least 25 children die each year inside hot vehicles. Over the past 10 years, researchers at General Motors have documented at least 175 deaths due to hyperthermia that occurred as the result of children being left unattended in hot cars, trucks, and vans. GM and SAFE KIDS highlighted this problem in a 2-part study researching how heat in closed vehicles affects infants and children. Simulating a mild, sunny day with low relative humidity, researchers found that the temperature inside a closed vehicle can exceed 120°F in only 30 minutes, even when the exterior temperature is as low as 70°F. After 2 hours, the vehicle’s interior exceeds 140°F. Opening a window slightly does not keep the temperature at a safe level. Now, new research released by GM and SAFE KIDS indicates that soaring heat inside a car gets even more stifling as the humidity rises, making conditions inside a closed vehicle more dangerous than previously estimated. In a climatic chamber simulating temperatures between 98 and 100.4 °F with a high relative humidity of 55%, 10 healthy adult volunteers sat inside a test vehicle for up to 90 minutes while researchers observed their vital signs. When compared to “dry heat” conditions, results showed that the test participants’ body temperatures and heart rates increased at a faster rate and reached higher levels. The higher humidity impeded their bodies’ ability to shed heat through the skin by both dry heat loss and sweat. Since children are more vulnerable to dramatic changes in environment than adults, and since higher humidity levels decrease a child’s ability to shed heat, the risk of heat-related illness to children should be considered high regardless of the temperature outside the vehicle. What to do if you see a child left alone in a car: C If possible, quickly locate the parents. C Try to open the car door manually. C If the door is locked, see whether the child can unlock the door or roll down the window from the inside. If the child presents a serious health risk: C Break a window that’s not too close to the child and remove the child from the vehicle. C Open the airway. C Give high-concentration oxygen. C Provide assisted ventilation if necessary. Next, if regional protocols allow, cool the child by performing the following steps: C Remove the child’s clothing. C Apply cool saline solution to the child’s skin and cover the child with cool, damp towels, OR C Place ice packs on the skin surface, especially at the neck, armpits, and groin. Note that children with heat stroke will always have altered mental status. If a child who has been exposed to a warm environment does not have altered mental status, do not treat with cooling unless directed to do so by medical control. Transport: Transport the child promptly, keeping the passenger compartment of the ambulance as cool as possible. Perform the focused history and detailed physical exam on the way to the hospital as time allows. Visit the following sites for more information about the dangers of leaving children in hot vehicles: http://www.safekids.org/content_documents/ACF37.pdf A brochure you can
print out for parents appears at
Ms Rothman is the research assistant/communications specialist at the Center for Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
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