IMPACT OF YANKEE STADIUM BAT DAY ON BLUNT TRAUMA IN NORTHERN NEW-YORK-CITY

Study objective: To determine the incidence of blunt trauma in norther n New York City before and after the distribution of 25,000 baseball b ats at Yankee Stadium. Design: Prospective multicenter study, includin g ten days before and ten days after Bat Day (June 3, 1990). Setting: Ten emergency departments in the Bronx and northern Manhattan. Type of participant: All patients presenting to the ED with baseball bat inju ries. Interventions: Each hospital collected the following data for ea ch subject: date and time of injury, patient's age and sex, extent of injury, whether a Yankee bat was used, presence of loss of consciousne ss, results of computed tomography scan of the brain (if performed), h istory source, and disposition of the patient. Average daily atmospher ic temperature was recorded for each day of the study. Measurements an d main results: Seventy-seven patients sustained bat injuries, 38 (49% ) before and 36 (47%) after Bat Day. There were no significant differe nces between the two groups with respect to age, sex, time of injury, number and distribution of fractures and lacerations, incidence of los s of consciousness, source of history, or disposition. There was a pos itive association between the number of cases on a given day and the a verage temperature that day (r = .5; P < .01). Conclusion: The distrib ution of 25,000 wooden baseball bats to attendees at Yankee Stadium di d not increase the incidence of bat-related trauma in the Bronx and no rthern Manhattan. There was a positive correlation between daily tempe rature and the incidence of bat injury. The informal but common impres sions of emergency clinicians about the cause-and-effect relationship between Bat Day and bat trauma were unfounded.