Analysis of Medical Responses in Mass Gatherings: The Commemoration Ceremonies for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli

IntroductionMass crowds outside the routine population create a burden of disease on Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The need for EMS in various mass-crowd events may vary. It is especially important to determine the EMS requirement that emerges during the historic commemoration ceremonies in Canakkale (Turkey).Hypothesis/ProblemThis study aims to determine the unique challenges in the planning of EMS responses provided for people from various countries at the commemoration ceremony for a 100-year-old war and to identify the medical provision of those services.MethodsThis descriptive study examined the patient applications in the Canakkale EMS at the commemoration ceremonies for the 100(th) anniversary of Gallipoli Wars (Canakkale Amphibious Wars - Turkey) on April 24-25, 2015.ResultsA total of 221 cases were handled by 112 EMS in the ceremony area. Of those, 87.3% of the cases applied to a mobile operating room (MOR) stationed in the ceremony area while 12.7% of them applied directly to the health care team in a large area in the ceremony area. Overall, 13.1% of the cases were transferred to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Patient presentation rate (PPR) of the patients who were treated during the two days was 4.42, and transfer to hospital rate (TTHR) of the cases transferred to the hospital was calculated to be 0.58.ConclusionFurther studies may create models in regard to the estimations on mass and needs based on the data of previous organizations.