title: Prehospital severity scoring at major rock concert events.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rock and contemporary music concerts are popular, recurrent events requiring on-site medical staffing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe a novel severity score used to stratify the level of acuity of patients presenting to first-aid stations at these events.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of charts generated at the first-aid stations of five major rock concerts within a 60,000 spectator capacity, outdoor, professional sports stadium. Participants included all concert patrons presenting to the stadium's first-aid stations as patients. Data were collected on patient demographics, history of drug or ethanol usage while at the concert event, first-aid station time, treatment rendered, diagnosis, and disposition. All patients evaluated were retrospectively assigned a "DRUG-ROCK" Injury Severity Score (DRISS) to stratify their level of acuity. Individual concert events and patient dispositions were compared statistically using chi-square, Fisher's exact, and the ANOVA Mean tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 250,000 spectators attended the five concert events. First-aid stations evaluated 308 patients (utilization rate of 1.2 per 1,000 patrons). The most common diagnosis was minor trauma (130; 42%), followed in frequency by ethanol/illicit drug intoxication (98; 32%). The average time in the first-aid station was 23.5 +/- 22.5 minutes (+/- standard deviation; range: 5-150 minutes). Disposition of patients included 100 (32.5%) who were treated and released; 98 (32%) were transported by paramedics to emergency departments (EDs); and 110 (35.5%) signed-out against medical advise (AMA), refusing transport. The mean DRISS was 4.1 (+/- 2.65). Two-thirds (67%) of the study population were ranked as mild by DRISS criteria (score = 1-4), with 27% rated as moderate (score = 5-9), and 6% severe (score > 10). The average of severity scores was highest (6.5) for patients transported to hospitals, and statistically different from the scores of the average of the treated and released and AMA groups (p < 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The DRISS was useful in stratifying the acuity level of this patient population. This severity score may serve as a potential triage mechanism for future mass gatherings such as rock concerts.
authors: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago 60612, USA.
authors: T B
authors: TB
authors: Erickson
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Koenigsberg
authors: E B
authors: EB
authors: Bunney
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Schurgin
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Levy
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Willens
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Tanner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002641:Chicago; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005392:First Aid; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008399:Mass Behavior; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification* / Q000209:etiology