Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-hfldf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-10T06:59:36.338Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Retrospective Analysis of Patient Presentations at the Sydney (Australia) Royal Easter Show from 2012 to 2014

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2017

Nathan Crabtree ,
Shirley Mo ,
Leon Ong ,
Thuvarahan Jegathees ,
Daniel Wei ,
David Fahey  and
Jia (Jenny) Liu
Nathan Crabtree
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Faculty of Medicine, University of NSW, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
Shirley Mo
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Faculty of Medicine, University of NSW, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
Leon Ong
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Thuvarahan Jegathees
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
Daniel Wei
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
David Fahey
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia Department of Anaesthetics, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia
Jia (Jenny) Liu*
Affiliation:
St John Ambulance Australia, Burwood, New South Wales, Australia Central Clinical School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
*
Correspondence: Jia (Jenny) Liu, MD, PhD State Clinical Group St John Ambulance New South Wales 9 Deane St Burwood, New South Wales 2134 Australia E-mail: jenny_jia_liu@hotmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction

Comprehensive studies on the relationship between patient demographics and subsequent treatment and disposition at a single mass-gathering event are lacking. The Sydney Royal Easter Show (SRES; Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales, Australia) is an annual, 14-day, agricultural mass-gathering event occurring around the Easter weekend, attracting more than 800,000 patrons per year. In this study, patient records from the SRES were analyzed to examine relationships between weather, crowd size, day of week, and demographics on treatment and disposition. This information would help to predict factors affecting patient treatment and disposition to guide ongoing training of first responders and to evaluate the appropriateness of staffing skills mix at future events.

Hypothesis

Patient demographics, environmental factors, and attendance would influence the nature and severity of presentations at the SRES, which would influence staffing requirements.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of 4,141 patient record forms was performed for patients who presented to St John Ambulance (Australian Capital Territory, Australia) at the SRES between 2012 and 2014 inclusive. Presentation type was classified using a previously published minimum data set. Data on weather and crowd size were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) and the SRES, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS v22 (IBM; Armonk, New York USA).

Results

Between 2012 to 2014, over 2.5 million people attended the SRES with 4,141 patients treated onsite. As expected, the majority of presentations were injuries (49%) and illnesses (46%). Although patient demographics and presentation types did not change over time, the duration of treatment increased. A higher proportion of patients were discharged to hospital or home compared to the proportion of patients discharged back to the event. Patients from rural/regional locations (accounting for 15% of all patients) were more likely to require advanced treatment, health professional review, and were more likely to be discharged to hospital or home rather than discharged back to the event. Extremes of temperature were associated with a lower crowd size and higher patient presentation rate (PPR), but had no impact on transfer or referral rates to hospital.

Conclusion

This study demonstrated that analyses of patient presentations at an agricultural show provide unique insights on weather, attendance, and demographic features that correlated with treatment and disposition. These data can help guide organizers with information on how to better staff and train health care providers at future mass-gathering events of this type.

CrabtreeN, MoS, OngL, JegatheesT, WeiD, FaheyD, LiuJ. Retrospective Analysis of Patient Presentations at the Sydney (Australia) Royal Easter Show from 2012 to 2014. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(2)187–194.

Keywords

country showseventsmass-gathering medicineminimum data setprehospital medicine
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 2017 , pp. 187 - 194
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2017 

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.)

Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: none

References

1. Arbon, P, Bridgewater, FH, Smith, C. Mass gathering medicine: a predictive model for patient presentation and transport rates. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2001;16(3):150-158.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. 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.Google Scholar
3. Grant, WD, Nacca, NE, Prince, LA, Scott, JM. Mass-gathering medical care: retrospective analysis of patient presentations over five years at a multi-day mass gathering. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2010;25(2):183-187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Nable, JV, Margolis, AM, Lawner, BJ, et al. Comparison of prediction models for use of medical resources at urban auto-racing events. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):608-613.Google Scholar
5. St John volunteers keep crowds safe at Easter Show 2014. St John Ambulance NSW Web Site. http://www.stjohnnsw.com.au/st-john-volunteers-keep-crowds-safe-at-easter-show/. Accessed February 1, 2015.Google Scholar
6. Sydney Royal Easter Show Media Team. Hats off to a cracking good Show! [press release]. 2015. http://www.rasnsw.com.au/SRES_2015_Day_14_wrap_up_-_FINAL.pdf Accessed February 1, 2015.Google Scholar
7. Pakravan, AH, West, RJ, Hodgkinson, DW. Suffolk Show 2011: prehospital medical coverage in a mass-gathering event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(5):529-532.Google Scholar
8. Logic, D. Google Maps Area Calculator Tool 2015. http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm. Accessed January 23, 2015.Google Scholar
9. Lund, A, Turris, SA, Bowles, R, et al. Mass-gathering health research foundational theory: part 1 - population models for mass gatherings-CORRIGENDUM. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):648-654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Ranse, J, Hutton, A. Minimum data set for mass-gathering health research and evaluation: a discussion paper. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(6):543-550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Bortolin, M, Ulla, M, Bono, A, Ferreri, E, Tomatis, M, Sgambetterra, S. Holy Shroud Exhibition 2010: health services during a 40-day mass-gathering event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(3):239-244.Google Scholar
12. Feldman, MJ, Lukins, JL, Verbeek, PR, MacDonald, RD, Burgess, RJ, Schwartz, B. Half-a-million strong: the Emergency Medical Services response to a single-day, mass-gathering event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004;19(4):287-296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Flabouris, A, Bridgewater, F. An analysis of demand for first-aid care at a major public event. Prehosp Disaster Med. 1996;11(1):48-54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Milsten, AM, Seaman, KG, Liu, P, Bissell, RA, Maguire, BJ. Variables influencing medical usage rates, injury patterns, and levels of care for mass gatherings. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2003;18(4):334-346.Google Scholar
15. Morimura, N, Katsumi, A, Koido, Y, et al. Analysis of patient load data from the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004;19(3):278-284.Google Scholar
16. Zeitz, KM, Schneider, DP, Jarrett, D, Zeitz, CJ. Mass gathering events: retrospective analysis of patient presentations over seven years. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2002;17(3):147-150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Zeitz, K, Haghighi, PD, Burstein, F, Williams, J. Understanding the drivers on medical workloads: an analysis of spectators at the Australian Football League. Australian Health Review. 2013;37(3):402-406.Google Scholar
18. Zeitz, KM, Zeitz, CJ, Arbon, P. Forecasting medical work at mass-gathering events: predictive model versus retrospective review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2005;20(3):164-168.Google Scholar
19. Perron, AD, Brady, WJ, Custalow, CB, Johnson, DM. Association of heat index and patient volume at a mass gathering event. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2005;9(1):49-52.Google Scholar
20. Burton, JO, Corry, SJ, Lewis, G, Priestman, WS. Differences in medical care usage between two mass-gathering sporting events. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(5):458-462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21. Nacca, K, Scott, J, Grant, W. Diagnosis according to time of arrival at “The Great New York State Fair.” Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(1):47-49.Google Scholar
22. 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.Google Scholar
23. Stagelund, S, Jans, Ø, Nielsen, K, Jans, H, Wildgaard, K. Medical care and organization at the 2012 Roskilde Music Festival: a prospective observational study. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica. 2014;58(9):1086-1092.Google Scholar
24. Michael, JA, Barbera, JA. Mass gathering medical care: a twenty-five-year review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 1997;12(4):305-312.Google Scholar
25. 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.Google Scholar
26. Phillips, A. Health status differentials across rural and remote Australia. Aust J Rural Health. 2009;17(1):2-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27. Lagace, C, Desmeules, M, Pong, RW, Heng, D. Non-communicable disease and injury-related mortality in rural and urban places of residence: a comparison between Canada and Australia. Can J Public Health. 2007;98(Suppl 1):S62-69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Ranse, J, Hutton, A, Turris, SA, Lund, A. Enhancing the minimum data set for mass-gathering research and evaluation: an integrative literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(3):280-289.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Crabtree supplementary material

Table S1

Download Crabtree supplementary material(File)
File 30 KB