Survival benefit of helicopter emergency medical services compared to ground emergency medical services in traumatized patients

Physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are a well-established component of prehospital trauma care in Germany. Reduced rescue times and increased catchment area represent presumable specific advantages of HEMS. In contrast, the availability of HEMS is connected to a high fina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical care (London, England) England), 2013-06, Vol.17 (3), p.R124-R124, Article R124
Main Authors: Andruszkow, Hagen, Lefering, Rolf, Frink, Michael, Mommsen, Philipp, Zeckey, Christian, Rahe, Katharina, Krettek, Christian, Hildebrand, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Air Ambulances
Comparative analysis
Emergency medical services
Emergency Medical Services - trends
Female
Germany
Germany - epidemiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Mortality
Multiple Trauma - mortality
Multiple Trauma - therapy
Prospective Studies
Survival Rate - trends
Time Factors
Transport of sick and wounded
Trauma Centers - trends
Weather
Young Adult
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Summary:Physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are a well-established component of prehospital trauma care in Germany. Reduced rescue times and increased catchment area represent presumable specific advantages of HEMS. In contrast, the availability of HEMS is connected to a high financial burden and depends on the weather, day time and controlled visual flight rules. To date, clear evidence regarding the beneficial effects of HEMS in terms of improved clinical outcome has remained elusive. Traumatized patients (Injury Severity Score; ISS≥9) primarily treated by HEMS or ground emergency medical services (GEMS) between 2007 and 2009 were analyzed using the TraumaRegister DGU® of the German Society for Trauma Surgery. Only patients treated in German level I and II trauma centers with complete data referring to the transportation mode were included. Complications during hospital treatment included sepsis and organ failure according to the criteria of the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine (ACCP/SCCM) consensus conference committee and the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. A total of 13,220 patients with traumatic injuries were included in the present study. Of these, 62.3% (n=8,231) were transported by GEMS and 37.7% (n=4,989) by HEMS. Patients treated by HEMS were more seriously injured compared to GEMS (ISS 26.0 vs. 23.7, P
ISSN:1364-8535
1466-609X
1364-8535
DOI:10.1186/cc12796