Citation

De Lorenzo RA, Gray BC, Bennett PC, Lamparella VJ. J. Emerg. Med. 1989; 7(4): 379-384.

Affiliation

Albany Medical College, New York.

Comment In:

J Emerg Med. 1989 Jul-Aug;7(4):405-6

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2600396

Abstract

A prediction of patient volume expected at "mass gatherings" is desirable in order to provide optimal on-site emergency medical care. While several methods of predicting patient loads have been suggested, a reliable technique has not been established. This study examines the frequency of medical emergencies at the Syracuse University Carrier Dome, a 50,500-seat indoor stadium. Patient volume and level of care at collegiate basketball and American football games as well as rock concerts, over a 7-year period were examined and tabulated. This information was analyzed using simple regression and nonparametric statistical methods to determine level of correlation between crowd size and patient volume. These analyses demonstrated no statistically significant increase in patient volume for increasing crowd size for basketball and football events. There was a small but statistically significant increase in patient volume for increasing crowd size for concerts. A comparison of similar crowd size for each of the three events showed that patient frequency is greatest for concerts and smallest for basketball. The study suggests that crowd size alone has only a minor influence on patient volume at any given event. Structuring medical services based solely on expected crowd size and not considering other influences such as event type and duration may give poor results.

Language: en