Surgical risks associated with winter sport tourism

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Public Health
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Winter mass tourism in mountain regions leads to increased emergency admissions due to injuries.
• Assessing surgical safety and efficiency during peak tourist seasons is crucial for healthcare planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgical safety and efficiency in French mountain hospitals during winter.
• To determine the impact of increased emergency admissions from tourism on surgical outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of emergency open surgery admissions in French hospitals (2010-2012).
• Difference-in-differences design to assess seasonal variations in surgical outcomes.
• Multilevel regressions controlling for patient and hospital characteristics to analyze effects on mortality, complications, and length of stay.

Main Results:

• Mountainous hospitals experienced a 6-77% winter activity increase, driven by tourist influx and orthopedic procedures.
• No significant increase in postoperative death, thromboembolism, or sepsis risk was observed.
• Length of hospital stay remained unchanged during the winter peak.

Conclusions:

• Surgical safety and efficiency are maintained in French mountain areas during winter.
• Healthcare systems can manage increased emergency surgical demands from winter tourism without compromising patient outcomes.