The Effect of Sporting Events on Medical Transport Time at a Level 1 Trauma Center: a Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE

We investigate how West Virginia University football games affect transport to Ruby Memorial Hospital, which shares a parking lot with Milan Puskar Football Stadium.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review of a trauma registry from a level 1-trauma center was conducted from 2007 to 2011 for all home and away football games. Home games served as time period of interest and away games served as a control time period. Patient charts were collected for a 36-hour time window surrounding the game. 250 patient charts were complete for home games and 185 patient charts for away games. Data analyzed were time from scene to arrival at hospital, use of air transport, transport time in relation to kick-off, and comparison between demographic and emergency department disposition of patients arriving during home games vs. patients arriving during away games.

RESULTS

No statistically significant differences were found for demographic data or emergency department disposition between groups. For ground transport directly from scene, the average time to arrival at the hospital was 44.9 minutes for home games and 45.1 minutes for away games. For air transport directly from the scene, the average time to arrival at the hospital was 44.9 minutes for home games and 44.0 minutes for away games. For ground transfer from another facility, the average time to arrival at the hospital was 76.4 minutes for home games and 52.9 minutes for away games. For air transport from another facility, the average time to arrival at the hospital was 37.4 minutes for home games and 24.0 minutes for away games. Air transportation utilization was increased in inter-facility transfers during home games (5/16, 31.3% vs. 4/20, 22.2%), and helicopters traveled a further distance (avg. 66.6 vs. 50.25 air miles). For patients coming from the scene during a home game, if the start of the game occurred after the trauma but before arrival to the trauma center, the average time of ground transport increased from 44.9 minutes to 120 minutes (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

A mass gathering in close proximity to a rural trauma center does affect transport patterns and transport times for trauma patients. Further investigation is warranted in order to improve patient care during mass gathering events.