Impact of the 2010 FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup on Pediatric Injury and Mortality in Cape Town, South Africa

Objective To examine how a mass-gathering event (the Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup, 2010, South Africa) impacts trauma and mortality in the pediatric (≤18 years) population. Study design We investigated pediatric emergency visits at Cape Town's 3 largest public trauma centers and 3 private hospital groups, as well as deaths investigated by the 3 city mortuaries. We compared the 31 days of World Cup with equivalent periods from 2007-2009, and with the 2 weeks before and after the event. We also looked at the World Cup period in isolation and compared days with and without games in Cape Town. Results There was significantly decreased pediatric trauma volume during the World Cup, approximately 2/100 000 (37%) fewer injuries per day, compared with 2009 and to both pre- and post-World Cup control periods ( P < .001). This decrease occurred within a majority of injury subtypes, but did not change mortality. There were temporal fluctuations in emergency visits corresponding with local match start time, with fewer all-cause emergency visits during the 5 hours surrounding this time (−16.4%, P = .01), followed by a subsequent spike (+26.2%, P = .02). There was an increase in trauma 12 hours following matches (+15.6%, P = .06). Conclusions In Cape Town, during the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup, there were fewer emergency department visits for traumatic injury. Furthermore, there were fewer all-cause pediatric emergency department visits during hometown matches. These results will assist in planning for future mass-gathering events.