Drug Use Patterns at Major Rock Concert Events☆☆☆★[1]
Summary
A retrospective review of all charts generated at first-aid stations during five major rock concerts (Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones) at a sports stadium, staffed by paramedics, emergency nurses and physicians. Across 253,286 spectators the first-aid station use rate was 1.2 per 1,000 patrons. Mean patron age was 26.3 years (range 3 to 56). The commonest diagnoses were minor trauma (130 patients, 42%) and ethanol or illicit drug intoxication (98, 32%); 147 of those treated (48%) admitted using illicit drugs or ethanol at the concert. Median time in the first-aid station was 15 minutes (range 5 to 150). Of the patients, 100 (32.5%) were treated and released, 98 (32%) were transported to emergency departments, and 110 (35.5%) signed out against medical advice.
So what
Two operational figures stand out. Nearly a third of patients were transported - far above the transport fraction reported at most events - and over a third left against medical advice, which is a documentation and risk exposure that event medical plans rarely address. If a third of your patients may leave before disposition, the record you keep at the point of contact is the only record that will exist.
Read the paper
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