Burning Man 2011: Mass Gathering Medical Care in an Austere Environment

Prehospital Emergency Care, Vol. 16, No. 4 , Pages 469-476
For those involved in the organisation of medical coverage for large events may find the review detailing the planning and subsequent medical care for Burning Man 2011 interesting.  Burning Man is a large weeklong outdoor arts festival held annually in the rugged and austere Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada. The 2011 event presented several unusual challenges in terms of emergency medical services (EMS) and medical care provision.

Attendance at Burning Man 2011 was 53,735. Of these attendees, 2,307 were treated in the field hospital. While most patients had minor injuries, 33 were subsequently transported to a hospital (28 by ambulance and five by helicopter). The most common conditions treated were soft-tissue injuries, dehydration, eye problems, and urinary tract infections. There was one death (subarachnoid haemorrhage) and one patient in cardiac arrest (thoracic aortic dissection) who was successfully resuscitated and transferred. Burning Man 2011 presented numerous challenges in provision of EMS and medical care because of attendance size, the austere environment, and significant distance (150 miles) to definitive medical care. EMS operations included six dedicated ambulances, three quick-response vehicles, two first-aid stations, and a physician-staffed field hospital. The hospital had limited diagnostic capabilities (e.g., x-ray, ultrasound, basic laboratory analysis) and a limited formulary. It was found that the use of physicians was necessary because much of the care provided was beyond the scope of paramedics.

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/10903127.2012.695432