https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2023.2511

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

Vol. 94 No. 1 (2024)
Submitted: December 30, 2022
Accepted: February 15, 2023
Published: February 23, 2023
Environment, human health, short term consequences
Abstract Views: 966
PDF: 261
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Authors

Raj Kumar
rajkumarvpci@gmail.com
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Parul Mrigpuri
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7723-4866
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Rohit Sarin
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, India.
Jitendra Kumar Saini
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7292-6377
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, New Delhi, India.
Rashmi Yadav
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0141-2096
Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Aditya Nagori
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
Sushil Kumar Kabra
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2616-9157
Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Arpana Mukherjee
Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Geetika Yadav
Department of Non-communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.

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.

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*Appendix Authors list

Kamal Singhal,1 Kana Ram Jat,2 Karan Madan,3 Mohan P. George,4 Kalaivani Mani,5 Randeep Guleria,3 Ravindra Mohan Pandey,5 Rupinder Singh Dhaliwal,6 Rakesh Lodha,2 Varinder Singh1

1Department of Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India

2Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care and Sleep Disorders, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

4Department of Environment, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, Kashmere Gate, New Delhi, India

5Department of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

6Department of Non-communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India

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Ethics Approval

The Institutional Ethical committees of both VPCI(VPCI/DIR/IHEC/2017/8) and NITRD (NITRD/EC/2017/2786) approved the study.

Supporting Agencies

Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India (No: 68/33/2015-NCD-I).

How to Cite

Kumar, Raj, Parul Mrigpuri, Rohit Sarin, Jitendra Kumar Saini, Rashmi Yadav, Aditya Nagori, Sushil Kumar Kabra, Arpana Mukherjee, and Geetika Yadav. 2023. “Air Pollution and Its Effects on Emergency Room Visits in Tertiary Respiratory Care Centers in Delhi, India”. Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 94 (1). https://doi.org/10.4081/monaldi.2023.2511.
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