Can Hospitals Protect Patients from Extreme Heat? Evidence from Hospital-Acquired Dehydration
Is the healthcare system equipped to protect patients from extreme heat? Linking daily temperatures to administrative records covering 41.3 million German hospital admissions, we examine hospital-acquired dehydration among patients without dehydration at admission. Relative to stays at 15–20◦C, exposure above 30◦C increases dehydration by 0.63 percentage points (17%) and acute kidney failure, an objective dehydration-related outcome, by 0.08 percentage points (4.7%). Effects are concentrated among older patients and those with dementia. Our findings show that extreme heat not only increases demand for care, but also compromises patient protection within hospitals, highlighting the need for adaptation to prevent avoidable in-hospital deterioration.