Mass gathering emergency medicine during the first international football event with anti-COVID-19 measures: An Italian experience.

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the number and type of acute pathological events during each football match and analyze whether the stadium's health protocol, which includes anti-COVID-19 measures, has had an impact on reducing admissions to nearby hospitals. The number of spectators requiring assistance was evaluated through the patient presentation rate (PPR), and the number of hospitalizations was assessed through the hospital transport rate (TTHR).

METHODS

General and specific measures aimed at reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission were implemented for spectators attending the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship matches held in Rome. For planning and risk stratification of events, the Arbon and Maurer scores were calculated to define the expected resources and the impact on healthcare systems. The primary outcome was the PPR and relative triage grouped into four categories. The secondary outcome was the need for hospitalization and the relative TTHR. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare parametric variables, whereas categorical variables were compared using the Chi-square test. All data were analyzed using SPSS v26 (IBM, NY, USA).

RESULTS

The most frequent symptoms were headache (23.9%), confusion (23.9%), syncope (11.4%), and dizziness (5.7%). The PPR ranged from 0.84 to 1.15. The most frequently assigned code was white in all events examined. The TTHR was between 0 and 0.21.

CONCLUSION

The assistance service provided at EURO 2020 successfully fulfilled its primary role of minimizing referrals to nearby hospitals. Mass gathering events can be conducted safely if adequate precautionary measures against COVID-19 are implemented.