Ice, freezing cold sends hundreds of patients to Emergency in Moldova: eight people hospitalized in critical condition with hypothermia

The Institute of Emergency Medicine (IMU) has recorded a significant increase in the number of patients in the Emergency Department over the past week, as a result of severe weather conditions marked by ice and low temperatures. More than 780 people asked for medical assistance from traumatologists, and 25 patients were examined after suffering from frostbite and hypothermia.

The spokesperson of the Institute of Emergency Medicine, Dorina Arseni, said that, in just one week, 780 people requested medical assistance from traumatologists, most of them presenting sprains and dislocations caused by falls on sidewalks and roadways covered with black ice. A number of 164 patients of them with fractures asked for hospitalization, while the others were treated and discharged after investigations and specialist consultations.

Extremely low temperatures have also led to cases of hypothermia. Twenty-five people came to the Emergency Department with severe body cooling and eight patients are currently hospitalized in serious condition.

Doctors draw attention to the risks associated with moving around in slippery conditions and prolonged exposure to cold. Specialists recommend wearing anti-slip footwear, walking carefully and protecting the extremities, especially for people who work outdoors and continue their activity despite the freezing temperatures.

Low temperatures will persist in the coming days. Meteorologists forecast persistently cold weather, with daytime highs remaining below zero degrees and freezing nights. On the next period, temperatures are expected to range between –6°C and –8°C during the day, while at night thermometers could drop to between –12°C and –14°C. Precipitation will be low, but light snow and ice formation are possible in some areas, especially in the morning and evening.