Heat stroke management during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Recommendations from the experts in Japan (2nd edition)

Abstract

Both coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and heat stroke have symptoms of fever or hyperthermia and the difficulty in distinguishing them could lead to a strain on emergency medical care. To mitigate the potential confusion that could arise from actions for preventing both COVID‐19 spread and heat stroke, particularly in the context of record‐breaking summer season temperatures, this work offers new knowledge and evidence that address concerns regarding indoor ventilation and indoor temperatures, mask wearing and heat stroke risk, and the isolation of older adults. Specifically, the current work is the second edition to the previously published guidance for handling heat stroke during the COVID‐19 pandemic, prepared by the “Working group on heat stroke medical care during the COVID‐19 epidemic,” composed of members from four organizations in different medical and related fields. The group was established by the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine Heatstroke and Hypothermia Surveillance Committee. This second edition includes new knowledge, and conventional evidence gleaned from a primary selection of 60 articles from MEDLINE, one article from Cochrane, 13 articles from Ichushi, and a secondary/final selection of 56 articles. This work summarizes the contents that have been clarified in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and heat stroke to provide guidance for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heat stroke during the COVID‐19 pandemic.