Profession
Sports come before emergency care
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 6, 2006
Men's visits to the emergency department increase significantly after televised sporting events, according to a study presented in October at the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians in New Orleans.
Over three years, a researcher examined ED registration patterns at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore after 796 sporting events. The number of men seeking emergency care increased after all the sporting events.
There were about 50% more men in the ED after a professional football game than during the game. After a baseball game, 30% to 40% more men sought care.
A study in the October 2005 Annals of Emergency Medicine found that when the Boston Red Sox were winning pivotal games in their postseason run in 2004, visits to Boston EDs dipped as much as 15%. Fans apparently thought it was more important to watch their team on TV than worry about charging off to the hospital, the study found.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/11/06/prbf1106.htm.