Sunday, July 28, 2019 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas temperatures are forecast to remain in triple-digits for the rest of the month and into August, putting more at risk of burn injuries from hot pavement, medical officials said.
A UNLV study found 173 pavement burn cases in Southern Nevada over the past five years. Eighty-eight percent of the cases happened on days when the temperature was above 95 degrees.
The pavement absorbs radiant energy and is significantly hotter than outside temperatures, according to the study. For example, when the temperature outside is more than 110 degrees, pavement temperatures can reach well above 140 degrees, which can result in second and third-degree burns within seconds of direct skin contact.
The study also found that burn injuries can happen when the outside temperature is as low as 84 degrees.
Those who are most at risk are children unaware of hot pavement, trauma victims who become incapacitated or unconscious on the ground and patients with diabetic neuropathy, said Dr. Jorge Vega, one of the lead UNLV researchers on the study.
Also, some tourists have been admitted for pavement-related burns because “they’re walking from the pool deck and they think it’s a short walk to the pool,” Vega said.
“Even a few seconds can cause third-degree burns.” he added. “Even when you’re just picking up a newspaper,” he said. “There should be no skin contact on hot asphalt or cement whatsoever.”
Vega said patients with diabetic neuropathy — a condition that causes nerve damage on feet and legs — get serious burns after standing on hot pavement for extended periods of time without realizing it. He also said victims of vehicle crashes can suffer from further injuries when lying on hot pavement for prolonged periods of time.
“The immediate effect is patients need operative intervention to try to treat the burn injury in operating room,” he said.
The study also found that older patients with pavement burn injuries often had to stay in the hospital for longer periods of time than their younger counterparts, strapping them with higher medical costs.
Vega wants to expand the study so researchers can look more closely into other medical vulnerabilities. He also hopes to partner with UNLV’s engineering school to measure surface temperatures around the Las Vegas Valley. “This is an ongoing project,” he said. “We want to try to minimize the amount of patients we are seeing.”
