The San Diego 2007 wildfires and Medi-Cal emergency department presentations, inpatient hospitalizations, and outpatient visits: An observational study of smoke exposure periods and a bidirectional case-crossover analysis

BACKGROUND: The frequency and intensity of wildfires is anticipated to increase as climate change creates longer, warmer, and drier seasons. Particulate matter (PM) from wildfire smoke has been linked to adverse respiratory and possibly cardiovascular outcomes. Children, older adults, and persons with underlying respiratory and cardiovascular conditions are thought to be particularly vulnerable. This study examines the healthcare utilization of Medi-Cal recipients during the fall 2007 San Diego wildfires, which exposed millions of persons to wildfire smoke. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Respiratory and cardiovascular International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 codes were identified from Medi-Cal fee-for-service claims for emergency department presentations, inpatient hospitalizations, and outpatient visits. For a respiratory index and a cardiovascular index of key diagnoses and individual diagnoses, we calculated rate ratios (RRs) for the study population and different age groups for 3 consecutive 5-day exposure periods (P1 [October 22–26], P2 [October 27–31], and P3 [November 1–5]) versus pre-fire comparison periods matched on day of week (5-day periods starting 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 weeks before each exposed period). We used a bidirectional symmetric case-crossover design to examine emergency department presentations with any respiratory diagnosis and asthma specifically, with exposure based on modeled wildfire-derived fine inhalable particles that are 2.5 micrometers and smaller (PM(2.5)). We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs), adjusting for temperature and relative humidity, to assess same-day and moving averages. We also evaluated the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Air Quality Index (AQI) with this conditional logistic regression method. We identified 21,353 inpatient hospitalizations, 25,922 emergency department presentations, and 297,698 outpatient visits between August 16 and December 15, 2007. During P1, total emergency department presentations were no different than the reference periods (1,071 versus 1,062.2; RR 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95–1.08), those for respiratory diagnoses increased by 34% (288 versus 215.3; RR 1.34; 95% CI 1.18–1.52), and those for asthma increased by 112% (58 versus 27.3; RR 2.12; 95% CI 1.57–2.86). Some visit types continued to be elevated in later time frames, e.g., a 72% increase in outpatient visits for acute bronchitis in P2. Among children aged 0–4, emergency department presentations for respiratory diagnoses increased by 70% in P1, and very young children (0–1) experienced a 243% increase for asthma diagnoses. Associated with a 10 μg/m(3) increase in PM(2.5) (72-hour moving average), we found 1.08 (95% CI 1.04–1.13) times greater odds of an emergency department presentation for asthma. The AQI level “unhealthy for sensitive groups” was associated with significantly elevated odds of an emergency department presentation for respiratory conditions the day following exposure, compared to the AQI level “good” (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.18–2.53). Study limitations include the use of patient home address to estimate exposures and demographic differences between Medi-Cal beneficiaries and the general population. CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory diagnoses, especially asthma, were elevated during the wildfires in the vulnerable population of Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Wildfire-related healthcare utilization appeared to persist beyond the initial high-exposure period. Increased adverse health events were apparent even at mildly degraded AQI levels. Significant increases in health events, especially for respiratory conditions and among young children, are expected based on projected climate scenarios of wildfire frequency in California and globally.