Impact of the EURO-2016 football cup on emergency department visits related to alcohol and injury

Abstract

In Marseille, the 2016 EURO football cup days were independently associated with a 43% increase in alcohol-related visits in the Emergency Department (ED). Patients admitted for alcohol consumption were younger (41 vs. 46.6; P < 0.001), more often male (82.8% vs. 60.1%; P < 0.001) and more often admitted as inpatients (24.0% vs. 16.5%; P = 0.03) than those admitted for injury. Unlike reported in previous studies, injury-related visits did not increase. This could be explained by coding practice variability between EDs (alcohol or injury). To account for this variability, both diagnosis groups must be separately included when using ED data for preparing and monitoring major gatherings.