ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Medical care must be well-planned for mass gatherings. Events such as fairs, concerts, parades, and rallies cause many people to gather in one place, increasing the chance of injuries and for the development of a disaster. In this study, the level and quality of medical care were evaluated at a mass gathering of approximately 100,000 children. The event was a television-sponsored fun fair. METHODS: Every patient contact was documented on printed forms, including data such as the number of patients treated, gender of the patients, presence or absence of a parental escort, time distribution of patient contacts, the diagnoses for the patient contacts, specific therapies applied, duration of the treatment, and patient discharge information. All data were coded after the event and transferred into a computer database. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the 100,000 spectators, 192 patients (81 male [42.2%] and 111 female [57.8%]) were treated during the nine-hour period, from 09:00 hours (h) until 18:00 h. Twenty percent of all the children up to the age of 10 years needing medical assistance were not accompanied by an adult. Seventy-five percent of all patient contacts were made during the afternoon. Of those treated, 164 patients (85.4%) suffered only minor injuries and were seen for <10 minutes. The most common type of complaint was minor trauma (103 patients, 53.6%); followed by minor medical problems such as headaches or light allergic reactions (21 patients, 10.9%); insect bites (20 patients, 10.4%); and serious medical problems or trauma such as severe arterial hypertension or long bone fractures (19 patients, 9.9%). Treatment included, but was not limited to, dressings (100 patients; 52.1%), local therapy (68 patient, 35.4%), and analgesic therapy (10 patients, 5.2%). Four patients (2%) were transferred to local hospitals. CONCLUSION: Most of the medical needs in the patients attending the children's fun fair were minor. Nevertheless, for similar events in the future, the medical team should be qualified for all serious medical emergencies, as well as major trauma; and should be prepared to meet the requirements of the specific group of spectators. The overall usage rate in the children's fun fair described was 19.2 patient encounters per 10,000 spectators. Half of all of the patients were children below the age of 14 years. Medical services should consider that this study shows that up to 33% of children seeking medical assistance may not be accompanied by adults.
