Air pollution and its effects on emergency room visits in tertiary respiratory care centres in Delhi, India

Abstract

Environmental pollution has harmful effects on human health, particularly the respiratory system. We aimed to study the impact of daily ambient air pollution on daily emergency room visits for acute respiratory symptoms. This study was conducted in two tertiary respiratory care centres in Delhi, India. Daily counts of emergency room visits were collected. All patients attending the emergency room were screened for acute onset (less than 2 weeks) of respiratory symptoms and were recruited if they were staying in Delhi continuously for at least 4 weeks and having onset (≤2 weeks) of respiratory symptoms. Daily average air pollution data for the study period was obtained from four continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations. A total of 61,285 patients were screened and 11,424 were enrolled from June 2017 to February 2019. Cough and difficulty in breathing were most common respiratory symptoms. Poor air quality was observed during the months of October to December. Emergency room visits with acute respiratory symptoms significantly increased per standard deviation increase in PM10 from lag days 2-7. Increase in wheezing was primarily seen with increase in NO2. Pollutant levels have effect on acute respiratory symptoms and thus influence emergency room visits. ***************************************************************   *Appendix Authors list Kamal Singhal1, Kana Ram Jat2, Karan Madan3, Mohan P George4, Kalaivani Mani5, Randeep Guleria3, Ravindra Mohan Pandey5, Rupinder Singh Dhaliwal6, Rakesh Lodha2, Varinder Singh1 1Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India2Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care and Sleep Disorders, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India4Department of Environment, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Kashmere Gate, New Delhi, India5Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India6Department of Non-communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India