ARTICOLI ORIGINALI   

Minerva Pediatrica 2014 December;66(6):559-62

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

“Soccer or emergency?” Sporting event can lead to a decreased attendance in the pediatric emergency department

Fabre A. ¹, Mancini J. ^{2, 3}, Boutin A. ¹, Bremond V. ¹ ✉

¹ Service d’Urgence Pédiatrique, APHM, Marseille, France; ² Aix‑Marseille Univ, UMR 912 (SESSTIM), Marseille, France; ³ APHM, UF Biostatistiques, Marseille, France

AIM: Sporting events have been seen to be related to a decline in adult male visits in emergency departments. Studies about the influence of sporting events on pediatric emergency attendance are scarce and non-conclusive. In our institution there is a widely shared popular belief of the local pediatric emergency medical staff that there is a decrease in the attendance when the local soccer team (Olympique de Marseille) is playing.
METHODS: We have collected data on attendance and orientation (medical or surgery) in the pediatric emergency unit (35,000 annual admission) for the Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between July 1, 2008 and May 31, 2012 compassing 4 soccer seasons. We have also collected the date and the localization (at home or abroad) of all the games played by the city’s soccer team for the four seasons.
RESULTS: The study included 512 days (171 Saturdays and Sundays and 170 Wednesdays), 173 were match days and 339 were control days. After adjusting for day, month, and years, there was a 3.5% decrease of attendance during game days (P=0.007), which was higher for days of away games (4.7% decrease, P=0.012). For matches played at 9 p.m. for a 4 hour period (allowing for 1 hour before and 1 hour after the matches) the decrease was that of 8% (P=0.05) mostly for medicine admission.
CONCLUSION: We observed that sporting events as soccer games can have a effect on the attendance rate in a children’s emergency department. The underlying reason for this difference is not well understood.