Burden of Injury and Illness in the Road Race Medical Tent: A Narrative Review

Objective: To summarize the literature relating to prehospital care at 5 km through marathon distance road races and present the epidemiology of common medical encounters, significant medical complications, and medical outcomes. Data Sources: We searched PubMed and Google Scholar for the published literature pertaining to road race medical tent encounters at 5 km through marathon distance road races from 2000 to 2018. We included English-language, original articles reporting on injury and illness incidence. Main Results: Standard medical encounter definitions have recently been formulated in response to the previous lack of uniform definitions. The incidence of medical complications at road races may be influenced by environmental conditions and race distance. Minor and moderate medical encounters, such as dermatologic injuries, musculoskeletal injuries, and exercise-associated collapse, are common. Serious and life-threatening medical complications, including exertional heat stroke, exercise-associated hyponatremia, and cardiac arrest, are less frequent. Fatalities are also rare, with rates of 0.3 to 5 per 100 000 participants reported at marathons. The ratio of hospital transports to medical encounters is low. Conclusions: On-site medical services play a key role in the safety of both runners and the community. Future research and care initiatives in this field should focus on optimizing treatment protocols, promoting injury prevention efforts and reducing host community costs.