The Impact of Alcohol-Related Presentations to Emergency Departments on Days with a Public Holiday or Sporting Event: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Introduction: The consumption of alcohol within the Australian community continues to rise, impacting care delivery in already over-burdened emergency departments (EDs). Study Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of alcohol-related presentations (ARPs) to EDs on days with a public holiday or sporting event. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken using routinely collected health data pertaining to patient presentations diagnosed with an alcohol-related disorder (ICD-10-AM code F10) to two EDs in Queensland, Australia from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe and compare ARPs on event days versus non-event days and uncomplicated versus other ARPs on event days only. Results: Of all 5,792 ARPs, nine percent (n = 529) occurred on public holidays or sporting event days. When compared by day type, type of presentation, mode of arrival, and day of week differed between event and non-event days. On event days, uncomplicated ARPs differed to other ARPs, with uncomplicated ARPs being younger, having shorter median length-of-stay (LOS), and less likely to be admitted to hospital. Conclusions: In this multi-site study, public holidays and sporting events had a noteworthy impact on ARPs to EDs. Focused refinement on the clinical management of uncomplicated ARPs is warranted to inform future resource allocation, including on event days.