The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #71068

Richard Serino, EMTP¹, Verna McKenna, MA², Julia E. Gunn, RN, MPH², and M. Anita Barry, MD, MPH². (1) Boston Emergency Medical Services, 767 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, 617 343-2367, serino@bostonems.org, (2) Communicable Disease Control Division, Boston Public Health Commission, 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02118

Background: Drop-in bioterrorism surveillance systems have been deployed during high profile events such as the 2002 Olympics. We evaluated the impact of large public events on citywide emergency department (ED) activity. Methods: Six major events held in Boston between 1999 and 2000 were identified. For each event, estimated attendance, the number medically evaluated at field sites and type of field based emergency medical service (FBEMS) was collected. ED visits from all acute care hospitals in Boston were obtained. Results: Estimated attendance during each event ranged from approximately 500,000 to over 7,000,000. The total number of FBEMS sites ranged from 23 for New Year 2000 to 70 for Sail Boston 2000. There was minimal impact on ED visits during Marathon 1999 and 2000, July 4th 1999 and 2000, and Sail Boston 2000. During these events, a total of 3,897 persons received FBEMS with only 337 (9%) requiring transport to area hospitals. During the New Year 2000 event period, there was a notable increase in citywide ED visits compared to the pre-event period. Of the 363 persons seen at field medical sites during New Year 2000, 40% required transport to area hospitals. Conclusion: Large public events can result in major population influxes, but there was minimal change in citywide ED visits during most major events in Boston in 1999-2000. This likely reflects the use of FBEMS. The development of field surveillance methods to augment hospital data sources may play a significant role in bioterrorism surveillance during major events.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the effect of field based EMS during large scale public events on hospital emergency department visits.
• Discuss the implications of field based EMS on "drop-in surveillance for bioterrorism" during large scale public events.

Keywords: Surveillance, Bioterrorism

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.