An observational retrospective audit of patients presenting to a private hospital group during specific timeframes before, during and after the comrades marathon over an 8- year period

Abstract

Introduction: This study examined the impact of the Comrades Marathon (CM) on the presentation of patients to the emergency departments (EDs) of a CM sponsoring private hospital group over an 8-year period. Methodology: A retrospective, quantitative secondary database analysis of all patients presenting to the designated EDs during 3 defined timeframes: a 48-hour weekend one week before the CM; a 48-hour period spanning over the CM; and a 48-hour weekend one week after the CM. Results: There was an increase in ED presentations during the CM timeframe compared to the weekends before and after the CM. There was a relatively greater increase in the CM female patient presentations (49.45%) compared to the registered number of female CM athletes (20%). All the EDs indicated an increased number of patient presentations during the CM “Up-run” years compared to the CM “Down-run” years (5 638 vs. 4 487, p-value 0.013). Musculoskeletal medical encounters appeared more common during the “Down-run” races (30.44% vs. 26.37%, p-value 0.318), with gastrointestinal (15.62% vs. 17.62%, p-value 0.043) and respiratory (11.99% vs. 13.25%, p-value 0.045) medical encounters more common during “Up-run” races. Fatigue (54.25% more common) and Electrolyte & Fluids (81.85% more common) medical encounters were common during the CM timeframe compared to both the Before and After timeframes. Conclusion: Epidemiologically, the CM “Up-run” and “Down-run” may present with two distinct clinical profiles, due to the different elevation nature of the CM, and not as a single race. Limitations related to the retrospective nature of this study makes comparability with other studies difficult.