title: Patient care at the 2010 Love Parade in Duisburg, Germany: clinical experiences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The mass panic at the Love Parade 2010 attracted a great deal of public attention in Germany and abroad. The goals of this paper are to summarize the available data on the injured persons and their treatment, and to assess the preparations that should be made for such an eventuality and the acute measures that should be taken if it occurs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patient data from the Duisburg hospitals were subjected to a structured statistical analysis, and all of the measures taken were assessed by qualified evaluators on the basis of questionnaires, a consensus conference, and individual interviews of the clinical coordinators.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 250,000 persons took part in the Love Parade; 5600 patient contacts occurred at first-aid posts and 473 patients (mean age, 25.5 years; male:female ratio, 1.4:1) were treated in 12 hospital emergency rooms, 41.7% were admitted to the hospital. Among the admitted patients, 73% stayed in the hospital for less than 24 hours, and 41% signed out against medical advice; 62.2% had a surgical diagnosis, 40.6% a medical one, and 8.0% a psychiatric one (some patients had more than one diagnosis). 47.6% of the surviving patients were classified as mildly injured, 47.8% as moderately injured, and 4.0% as severely injured. Most medical activity was concentrated in three areas: the treatment of drug abuse, the care of many mild and moderate injuries, and Shock Room diagnostic assessment of patients potentially harboring serious injuries. Hospitals were subject to the highest strain 2 to 3 hours after the mass panic, at which time they received up to 20 new patients per hour.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data permit a detailed view of the medical care that was provided. In situations of this kind, the main problems can be dealt with through targeted and structured preparation and optimized emergency plans which consider both foreseeable and unforeseeable events. Priority must be given to rapid diagnostic assessment and clinical decision-making; the prerequisites for these are transparent institutional structures and clear assignments of responsibility.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Orthopädie und Unfallchirurgie, Klinikum Duisburg und Berufsgenossenschaftliche Unfallklinik Duisburg-Buchholz, Duisburg, Germany. ole.ackermann@klinikum-duisburg.de
authors.forename: Ole
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ackermann
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lahm
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfohl
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Köther
authors.forename: Tio Kkwie
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kutzer
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Peter-Michael
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Hax
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000846:Anniversaries and Special Events; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D005392:First Aid; D005858:Germany; D006752:Hospital Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D008399:Mass Behavior; D054527:Mass Casualty Incidents; D008875:Middle Aged; D010200:Panic; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014218:Triage / Q000458:organization & administration; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult