File photo: Jordan Evans/Cronkite News: Summer heat is nothing new for Arizona residents, but medical officials warn of another kind of threat. It is a contact burn caused by touching a surface or pavement that is extremely hot in the unrelenting sun. .
Erin Murphy/ Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – Arizona Burn Center officials are warning of roads and surfaces that literally heat up in the summer sun, years after contact burns resulted in dozens of hospitalizations.
Kevin Foster, M.D., a burn surgeon at the center, said the situation is particularly dangerous for the elderly, homeless and methamphetamine users, who are at high risk of being exposed and may become incapacitated if they fall. rice field.
Foster warns that pavement in direct sunlight can reach 180 degrees. “At that temperature, it takes only a few seconds for a second-degree burn to occur, but exposure for more than a minute results in a third-degree burn,” he said.
According to Valleywise Health, the number of patients admitted to Arizona burn centers for contact burns between June and August has ranged from 68 to 92 over the past six years, with 85 in 2022. He was hospitalized. Foster said at a press conference last week. The center had already admitted about 20 patients in June, with another 10 being treated at the time.
Foster said the center has seen a rise in the number of methamphetamine burns, with a record number of hospitalizations last year. He said the new trend of fentanyl-contaminated methamphetamine has left users unconscious and lying on the pavement for extended periods of time.
“They fall, often with no one around to help them. They lose consciousness for a period of time and end up with severe burns,” he said.
Last year was also the first time drug users accounted for more than half of the heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, according to the county health department. According to the report, 54% of heat-related deaths in 2022 were linked to drug use.
All types of heat-related deaths set a record Maricopa County will have 425 deaths in 2022, a 25% increase from the previous year.
Older people have traditionally been most at risk for pavement burns and heat-related illnesses. Nearly two-thirds of heat-related deaths in Maricopa County in 2022 will be in people over the age of 50, according to department data.
Of the 85 patients admitted to the Arizona Burn Center last summer, the average age was 54 years, with the oldest patient being 91 years old.
“That particular population is still a problem,” Foster said. “Many of them have problems with mobility or walking.
Homeless people have also been disproportionately affected, making up about 30% of patients treated last year, Foster explained. He said their injuries were most often related to exposure due to lack of shelter, and that having nowhere to go further complicates their treatment.
“A lot of the time they’re alone and no one is watching them,” Foster said. “And they are particularly difficult patients because when it comes time to discharge them to a safe place, it becomes very difficult.”
Contact burns are just one of the heat-related threats facing homeless people, said Sean Rescue Mission, spokesperson for the Christian nonprofit Phoenix Rescue Mission, which provides care for the homeless and those suffering from addiction. Mr Little says.
The summer months are a particularly difficult time for homeless people, Little said, explaining that getting water to homeless people in the area is a top priority. The mission’s Code Red program focuses on distributing water to prevent stroke and other heat-related illnesses in the homeless population.
“Twenty people are driving around the city trying to bring water and serve people,” Little said. “Some people have heat stroke, and some people have rashes and dermatitis.”
Treating burns is often a long and painful process. The center reported that last year patients required an average of two surgeries and 70% required a ventilator.
Foster explained that burns and heat-related injuries can lead to many life-threatening complications, including brain damage, liver and kidney failure, so surgery or external treatment alone is not always enough. . Last summer, 25% of the center’s patients required further hospitalization at another facility, and 33% required intensive care, according to Valleywise Health. “Street of Fire” report.
“We expect this problem to continue and possibly worsen over time as temperatures rise,” Foster said. “Almost all of these burns are preventable and preventable. I want people to know,” he added. about this issue. ”
