Impact of the Soweto football derby on the trauma emergency department at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, a tertiary level hospital in South Africa

TL;DR

This study examines how the Soweto football derby impacts trauma cases at a major South African hospital, finding increased severe injuries post-match.

Contribution

The study provides novel insights into trauma patterns during and after the Soweto Derby in a low-to-middle-income country context.

Findings

Significantly more P1 (most severe) trauma patients presented post-match compared to non-derby days.

Young African males were disproportionately affected by severe trauma during the derby period.

There was a notable drop in male ED visits during the match itself.

Abstract

The Soweto Derby is one of Africa’s largest football derbies. The two rival teams, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, both originate in Soweto, a sprawling township 20km outside Johannesburg. Soweto is infamous for the high levels of violent crime and trauma, but also for Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH), with one of the world’s largest trauma emergency departments (ED). Research globally, describing the impact of sports events on public health care systems is conflicting, with evidence showing both increases and decreases in spectator related trauma. This paper seeks to describe the trauma burden during the Soweto Derby and add to the research concerning trauma relating to sporting derbies in low to middle income countries.

To analyze the impact of the Soweto Derby on the trauma ED at CHBAH over a 24-hour period.

A retrospective comparative study at the CHBAH Trauma ED of 13 Soweto Derbies played over a 5 year period between 2015–2019, compared to the corresponding non-Soweto Derby days of the preceding year. Patients were triaged according to the South African Triage Scale and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) principles. Data was organized into 3 time frames where the triage score and mechanism of injuries were compared: 1) 4 hours pre-match, 2) 2 hours during the match, and 3) 18 hours post-match.

Thirteen Soweto Derbies and 2552 patients were included. The median age was 29 with males accounting for 73.4% of all trauma cases. Significantly more P1 patients presented during the Soweto Derby. Pre-match there were 3x less P1 patients presenting to the ED (4.7% vs 12%, p = 0.044). During the match, there was a 40% drop in males presenting to ED (5.95% vs 9.45%, p = 0.015). Post-match there was a significant increase in P1 patients treated (17.4% vs 13.5%, p = 0.021)), with the majority being young males. There was no increase in either female or paediatric visits to the ED.

The Soweto Derby has a direct effect on the trauma burden at CHBAH, with more P1 patients presenting post-match. Young African males are disproportionally affected by severe trauma requiring increased health care resources in an already overburdened hospital.

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