The full moon and ED patient volumes: unearthing a myth

Am J Emerg Med. 1996 Mar;14(2):161-4. doi: 10.1016/S0735-6757(96)90124-2.

Abstract

To determine if there is any effect of the full moon on emergency department (ED) patient volume, ambulance runs, admissions, or admissions to a monitored unit, a retrospective analysis of the hospital electronic records of all patients seen in an ED during a 4-year period was conducted in an ED of a suburban community hospital. A full moon occurred 49 times during the study period. There were 150,999 patient visits to the ED during the study period, of which 34,649 patients arrived by ambulance. A total of 35,087 patients was admitted to the hospital and 11,278 patients were admitted to a monitored unit. No significant differences were found in total patient visits, ambulance runs, admissions to the hospital, or admissions to a monitored unit on days of the full moon. The occurrence of a full moon has no effect on ED patient volume, ambulance runs, admissions, or admissions to a monitored unit.

MeSH terms

  • Ambulances / statistics & numerical data
  • Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
  • Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Moon*
  • Mythology