The behaviour of adaptive thermal comfort models compared to the Fanger model in intensivists adapted to a tropical climate

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the behaviour of adaptive models of thermal comfort (aPMVy e aPMVk) as compared with the classical Fanger model (PMV) for the prediction of the actual thermal sensation of intensivist professionals adapted to the tropical climate, seeking to identify the limits of agreement between such methods. The samples were collected at nine public Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil and the estimates obtained by the models were compared by applying the concordance between Bland-Altman methods. The tests revealed that, among the selected methods, the one that showed the least bias estimating the real sensation was the classic PMV, compared with adaptive models indicated for individuals acclimatized to hot and humid regions, which are characteristic of tropical climates. However, the amplitude of the bias depended on the estimation range, i.e., as the estimation was kept between -1.5 and 0.2 values, the bias tended to be minimized. The mutual correlation analysis between tests showed that the PMV and aPMVk are equivalent when their estimates are between -0.5 and 0.5, indicating that the weighting factor for adaptability offered by the aPMVk model was not enough to provide acclimatization in the sample considered.