Experience of health-related problems during house parties in the Netherlands: nine years of experience and three million visitors.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to report on a nine years of experience of providing medical support during house parties (raves) in the Netherlands, where they can be organized legally. DESIGN This was a prospective, observational study of self-referred patients from 1997 to 2005. During raves, first aid stations are staffed with specifically trained medical and paramedical personnel. Self-referred patients were diagnosed, treated, and recorded using standardized methods. RESULTS During a nine-year period with 219 raves occurred, involving approximately three million participants, 23,581 patients visited the first aid stations. The medical usage rate (MUR) varied from 59-170 patients per 10,000 rave participants. The mean age increased from 1997 to 2005 from 18.7 +/- 2.7 to 23.3 +/- 5.7 years. The mean stay at the first aid station was 18 +/- 46 minutes. Most health problems were mild. Fifteen cases of severe incidents were observed with one death. CONCLUSIONS Unique data from the Netherlands demonstrate a low number of serious, health-related, short-term problems during raves.