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Mass-gathering Medicine: Risks and Patient Presentations at a 2-Day Electronic Dance Music Event

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2015

Adam Lund  and
Sheila A. Turris
Adam Lund*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Sheila A. Turris
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
*
Correspondence: Adam Lund, MD, FRCPC Emergency Department Royal Columbian Hospital 330 East Columbia Street New Westminster, British Columbia, V3L 3W7, Canada E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Introduction

Music festivals, including electronic dance music events (EDMEs), increasingly are common in Canada and internationally. Part of a US $4.5 billion industry annually, the target audience is youth and young adults aged 15-25 years. Little is known about the impact of these events on local emergency departments (EDs).

Methods

Drawing on prospective data over a 2-day EDME, the authors of this study employed mixed methods to describe the case mix and prospectively compared patient presentation rate (PPR) and ambulance transfer rate (ATR) between a first aid (FA) only and a higher level of care (HLC) model.

Results

There were 20,301 ticketed attendees. Seventy patient encounters were recorded over two days. The average age was 19.1 years. Roughly 69% were female (n=48/70). Forty-six percent of those seen in the main medical area were under the age of 19 years (n=32/70). The average length of stay in the main medical area was 70.8 minutes. The overall PPR was 4.09 per 1,000 attendees. The ATR with FA only would have been 1.98; ATR with HLC model was 0.52. The presence of an on-site HLC team had a significant positive effect on avoiding ambulance transfers.

Discussion

Twenty-nine ambulance transfers and ED visits were avoided by the presence of an on-site HLC medical team. Reduction of impact to the public health care system was substantial.

Conclusions

Electronic dance music events have predictable risks and patient presentations, and appropriate on-site health care resources may reduce significantly the impact on the prehospital and emergency health resources in the host community.

LundA , TurrisSA . Mass-gathering Medicine: Risks and Patient Presentations at a 2-Day Electronic Dance Music Event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):1 8

Keywords

electronic dance music eventhazardmass gatheringmusic festivalrisk
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 271 - 278
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015 

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