Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T12:06:53.633Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Moshpit Medicine: The Experience of an Australian Event Resuscitation Team

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2020

Sean Wing Open the ORCID record for Sean Wing [Opens in a new window] ,
Robert Johnson  and
Leigh Fowler
Sean Wing*
Affiliation:
Queensland Ambulance, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Medical Response Australia, Yatala, Queensland, Australia
Robert Johnson
Affiliation:
Medical Response Australia, Yatala, Queensland, Australia
Leigh Fowler
Affiliation:
Queensland Ambulance, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Medical Response Australia, Yatala, Queensland, Australia
*
Correspondence: Sean Wing, MBBS BHSc (Paramedic) Medical Response Australia PO BOX 6163 YatalaDCQLD 4207Australia E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The authors reviewed case reports of patients presenting to an advanced medical assessment and resuscitation service at 15 music events over 22 days from June 2018 through March 2019 around Australia. Event size ranged from 4,000 to 57,500 participants. Events observed had a mean patient presentation rate (PPR) of 0.83% (SD = 0.59%) and mean transport to hospital rate (TTHR) of 1.89 (SD = 0.92) per 10,000. Two-hundred and twenty-one cases were reviewed and tabulated for descriptive analysis.

Lower rates of traumatic injuries were seen compared to other case reports, and minor procedures represented a minor but important part of the team’s workload. Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) use was reported by 33.0% of patients on the day of presentation; almost one-half of these reported a co-ingestion. Patients presenting after using MDMA were more likely to have an elevated temperature. Eight percent of patients presented with temperature above 38°C. Patients with an initial temperature above 38°C were more likely to require hospitalization. On-site electrocardiograph (ECG), blood gas, ultrasound, and urinalysis were found to be useful in decision support. In total, 29.8% of patients required sedation during their encounter; 2.7% required rapid sequence induction at the event. Mean observation time was 44 minutes, with longer observation required in MDMA and hallucinogen-related presentations.

Keywords

event medicinemass gatheringmusic festivalprehospital
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , June 2020 , pp. 293 - 297
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

University of Tasmania. The Economic and Cultural Value of Life Music in Australia. http://apraamcos.com.au/broadcast/LiveMusic-report-FINAL.pdf. Published 2014. Accessed September 28, 2019.Google Scholar
Chhabra, N, Gimbar, RP, Walla, LM, Thompson, TM. Emergency department patient burden from an electronic dance music festival. J Emerg Med. 2018;54(4):435–439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heiby, MJ, Barnhardt, W, Berry, T, Welcher, M, Brady, WJ. The impact of a mass gathering events with an on-site medical management team on municipal 911 emergency medical services. Am J Emerg Med. 2013;31(1):256–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ranse, J, Hutton, A, Keene, T, et al.Health service impact from mass gatherings: a systematic literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):71–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turris, SA, Lund, A. Mortality at music festivals: academic and grey literature for case finding. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):58–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arbon, P. Mass-gathering medicine: a review of the evidence and future directions for research. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;22(2):131–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosseini Boroujeni, SM, Ardalan, A, Delpisheh, A, et al.Factors predicting patient presentation rate in mass gatherings: a systematic literature review. Front Public Health. 2018;6:320.Google Scholar
Milsten, AM, Maguire, BJ, Bissell, RA, Seaman, KG. Mass-gathering medical care: a review of the literature. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2002;17(3):151–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lund, A, Turris, SA. Mass-gathering medicine: risks and patient presentations at a 2-day electronic dance music event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(3):271–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munn, MB, Lund, A, Golby, R, Turris, SA. Observed benefits to on-site medical services during an annual 5-day electronic dance music event with harm reduction services. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(2):228–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwartz, B, Nafziger, S, Milsten, A, Luk, J, Yancey, A. Mass gathering medical care: resource document for the National Association of EMS Physicians position statement. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2015;19(4):559–568.Google ScholarPubMed
Turris, SA, Camporese, M, Gutman, SJ, Lund, A. Mass-gathering medicine: risks and patient presentations at a 2-day electronic dance music event-year two. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):687–688.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, DM, Beaumont, PO, May, D, Dargan, PI. Recreational drug use presentations during a large outdoor festival event: reduction in hospital emergency department transfer where medical physicians are present. Journal of Substance Use. 2010;15(6):434–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bledsoe, B, Songer, P, Buchanan, K, Westin, J, Hodnick, R, Gorosh, L. Burning Man 2011: mass gathering medical care in an austere environment. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2012;16(4):469–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutch, MJ, Austin, KB. Hospital in the field: prehospital management of GHB intoxication by medical assistance teams. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(5):463–467.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedman, MS, Plocki, A, Likourezos, A, et al.A prospective analysis of patients presenting for medical attention at a large electronic dance music festival. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(1):78–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krul, J. Mass gathering medicine at raves: incidents and substance-related emergencies. https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/mass-gathering-medicine-at-raves-incidents-and-substance-related-. Published 2013. Accessed September 28, 2019.Google Scholar
Krul, J, Sanou, B, Swart, EL, Girbes, AR. Medical care at mass gatherings: emergency medical services at large-scale rave events. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(1):71–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ridpath, A, Driver, CR, Nolan, ML, et al.Illnesses and deaths among persons attending an electronic dance-music festival—New York City, 2013. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(50):1195.Google Scholar
Ruest, SM, Stephan, AM, Masiakos, PT, Biddinger, PD, Camargo, CA, Kharasch, S. Substance use patterns and in-hospital care of adolescents and young adults attending music concerts. Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2018;13(1):1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turris, SA, Callaghan, CW, Rabb, H, Munn, MB, Lund, A. On the way out: an analysis of patient transfers from four large-scale North American music festivals over two years. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;34(1):72–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, MJ, Lukins, JL, Verbeek, RP, Macdonald, R, Burgess, RJ, Schwartz, B. Half-a-million strong: the Emergency Medical Services response to a single-day, mass-gathering event. Prehosp Emerg Med. 2009;8(1):103–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkinson, R, Bowring, A, Dietze, P, Hellard, M, Lim, MSC. Young risk takers: alcohol, illicit drugs, and sexual practices among a sample of music festival attendees. J Sex Transm Dis. 2014;6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinus, T, McAlaney, J, McLaughlin, LJ, Smith, H. Outdoor music festivals: cacophonous consumption or melodious moderation? Drugs (Abingdon Engl). 2010;17(6):795–807.Google Scholar
NSW Ministry of Health. Management of Drug Associated Hyperthermia in the Music Festival Setting. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/aod/Pages/illicit-substance-induced-hyperthermia.aspx. Published 2019. Accessed September 28, 2019.Google Scholar
Prager, R, Sedgwick, C, Lund, A, et al.Point of care ultrasound at a remote multi-day mass gathering: a prospective case series. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(S1):S137–S138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar