Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake
Once a year during the festival of Sun-Moon Lake in Nan-Tou County, Taiwan, a long-distance swimming mass gathering (LDSMG) event takes place. This event, in which participants swim an estimated 30 km, is very popular; the total number of spectators and participants at the 2002 festival was 15,189....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency and Critical Medicine (TSGECM)
2010-06-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Gerontology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873959810700259 |
| _version_ | 1819100533919580160 |
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| author | Wen-Han Chang Kuo-Song Chang Chien-Shuan Huang Ming-Yuan Huang Ding-Kuo Chien Cheng-Ho Tsai |
| author_facet | Wen-Han Chang Kuo-Song Chang Chien-Shuan Huang Ming-Yuan Huang Ding-Kuo Chien Cheng-Ho Tsai |
| author_sort | Wen-Han Chang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Once a year during the festival of Sun-Moon Lake in Nan-Tou County, Taiwan, a long-distance swimming mass gathering (LDSMG) event takes place. This event, in which participants swim an estimated 30 km, is very popular; the total number of spectators and participants at the 2002 festival was 15,189. This study, the first pertaining to the LDSMG, aimed to review the effect of the environmental factors at this particular mass gathering event, with mass being defined here as more than 1,000 people, upon the event's patient presentation rate (PPR). This was done to provide improved medical services at this event in future years The study also aimed to collect patient data from the two medical stations (one upstream and one downstream) and analyze the differences between them. In 2002, the number of patients requiring first aid treatment was determined from data gathered on-site. A total of 63 presented at on-site medical stations (PPR, 4.15 per 1,000 attendees), where 14 patients presented to a downstream medical station and 49 to an upstream medical station. The mean age of the patients was 35.46 ± 15.14 years; ages ranged from 1 to 65 years. Forty-nine of the patients (78%) were male. Fifty-nine patients were treated with medication (3.88 per 1,000 attendees), and two were taken to hospital (0.13 per 1,000 attendees). Injuries sustained included trauma (71%), such as impact, fall, sprain, stabbed laceration and burn, hypothermia (5%), and foreign bodies (3%). The PPR at the LDSMG was related to factors including the presence or absence of seating, whether the event was outdoors or indoors, mobility of the crowd, whether the activity was contained within a boundary, attendance figures, and humidity level. The weather, particularly the relative humidity (81%), was also positively correlated with an increase in the number of presentations at the medical stations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:04:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fcef9202c1c4dc4abccdbfc880af0a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1873-9598 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:04:18Z |
| publishDate | 2010-06-01 |
| publisher | Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency and Critical Medicine (TSGECM) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Gerontology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fcef9202c1c4dc4abccdbfc880af0a02022-12-21T18:44:08ZengTaiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency and Critical Medicine (TSGECM)International Journal of Gerontology1873-95982010-06-0142536810.1016/S1873-9598(10)70025-9Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon LakeWen-Han Chang0Kuo-Song Chang1Chien-Shuan Huang2Ming-Yuan Huang3Ding-Kuo Chien4Cheng-Ho Tsai5Emergency Department, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanEmergency Department, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Rehabilitation, Tai-En Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanEmergency Department, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanEmergency Department, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanSection of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanOnce a year during the festival of Sun-Moon Lake in Nan-Tou County, Taiwan, a long-distance swimming mass gathering (LDSMG) event takes place. This event, in which participants swim an estimated 30 km, is very popular; the total number of spectators and participants at the 2002 festival was 15,189. This study, the first pertaining to the LDSMG, aimed to review the effect of the environmental factors at this particular mass gathering event, with mass being defined here as more than 1,000 people, upon the event's patient presentation rate (PPR). This was done to provide improved medical services at this event in future years The study also aimed to collect patient data from the two medical stations (one upstream and one downstream) and analyze the differences between them. In 2002, the number of patients requiring first aid treatment was determined from data gathered on-site. A total of 63 presented at on-site medical stations (PPR, 4.15 per 1,000 attendees), where 14 patients presented to a downstream medical station and 49 to an upstream medical station. The mean age of the patients was 35.46 ± 15.14 years; ages ranged from 1 to 65 years. Forty-nine of the patients (78%) were male. Fifty-nine patients were treated with medication (3.88 per 1,000 attendees), and two were taken to hospital (0.13 per 1,000 attendees). Injuries sustained included trauma (71%), such as impact, fall, sprain, stabbed laceration and burn, hypothermia (5%), and foreign bodies (3%). The PPR at the LDSMG was related to factors including the presence or absence of seating, whether the event was outdoors or indoors, mobility of the crowd, whether the activity was contained within a boundary, attendance figures, and humidity level. The weather, particularly the relative humidity (81%), was also positively correlated with an increase in the number of presentations at the medical stations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873959810700259emergency medicinemass gatheringpatient presentation ratephysical enduranceswimming |
| spellingShingle | Wen-Han Chang Kuo-Song Chang Chien-Shuan Huang Ming-Yuan Huang Ding-Kuo Chien Cheng-Ho Tsai Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake International Journal of Gerontology emergency medicine mass gathering patient presentation rate physical endurance swimming |
| title | Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake |
| title_full | Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake |
| title_fullStr | Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake |
| title_short | Mass Gathering Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Taiwan Experience of Long-distance Swimming Across Sun-Moon Lake |
| title_sort | mass gathering emergency medicine a review of the taiwan experience of long distance swimming across sun moon lake |
| topic | emergency medicine mass gathering patient presentation rate physical endurance swimming |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1873959810700259 |
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