Time for a break: admissions to an urban emergency department after working out--a retrospective study from Switzerland.
BACKGROUND
The present retrospective study was intended to investigate whether working out and other low-speed sports can provoke cardiovascular, neurological, or traumatic damage.


METHODS
Patient data from 2007 to 2013 was collected and saved at the university department of emergency medicine in an electronic patient record database.


RESULTS
Of the 138 patients included in this study, 83.3% (n = 115) were male and 16.7% female (n = 23). Most admissions were due to musculoskeletal accidents (n = 77; 55.8%), followed by neurological incidents (n = 23; 16.7%), cardiovascular incidents (n = 19; 13.8%), soft tissue injuries (n = 3; 2.2%), and others (n = 16; 11.6%). The mean age of the allover injured people was 36.7 years. The majority of the patients (n = 113; 81.9%) were treated as outpatients; 24 (17.4%) were inpatients. Discussion. In Switzerland, this is the first study that describes emergency department admissions after workout and examines trauma and neurological and cardiovascular incidents. As specific injuries, such as brain haemorrhages, STEMIs, and epileptic seizures, were relatively frequent, it was hypothesised that workout with its physiological changes may be an actual trigger for these injuries, at least for a specific population.


CONCLUSIONS
Strenuous physical activity may trigger the risk of cardiovascular, neurological, or trauma events.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital and University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 16c, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
Valentina A
VA
Imstepf
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital and University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 16c, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
Christian T
CT
Braun
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital and University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 16c, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
Meret E
ME
Ricklin
Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital and University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 16c, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
Aristomenis K
AK
Exadaktylos
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064797:Physical Conditioning, Human / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult