[A unique medical experience: the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games].

BACKGROUND: The request for medical attention derived from Olympic Games is variable, with few previously published experiences and thus, the estimations made by the organizers are difficult. METHODS: The health care program established during the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona is described and the clinical cases attended are reported. RESULTS: The number of persons accredited by the Barcelona Olympic Committee was 132,286. Health care attendance was provided in the sports installations, the olympic villages of the journalists and athletes, olympic family hotels, press centers and the International Youth Camp. A Polyclinic was in operation in the Olympic Village with a 24 hour Emergency Department. A total of 15,552 visits were made, 524 of which were sent to the Emergency Department of the Olympic Hospital (Hospital del Mar in Barcelona). Three hundred twenty visits were programed in the Out Patient Departments of the Hospital and a total of 81 patients were admitted to the hospital with a mean stay of 3.9 days. The most common medical problems encountered were those related with the locomotor system. CONCLUSIONS: The health care program designed for the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games was adequate to attend the health care demand required.