Impact of emergency medical helicopter transport directly to a university hospital trauma center on mortality of severe blunt trauma patients until discharge

Abstract

IntroductionThe benefits of transporting severely injured patients by helicopter remain controversial. This study aimed to analyze the impact on mortality of helicopter compared to ground transport directly from the scene to a University hospital trauma center.MethodsThe French Intensive Care Research for Severe Trauma cohort study enrolled 2,703 patients with severe blunt trauma requiring admission to University hospital intensive care units within 72 hours. Pre-hospital and hospital clinical data, including the mode of transport, (helicopter (HMICU) versus ground (GMICU), both with medical teams), were recorded. The analysis was restricted to patients admitted directly from the scene to a University hospital trauma center. The main endpoint was mortality until ICU discharge.ResultsOf the 1,958 patients analyzed, 74% were transported by GMICU, 26% by HMICU. Median injury severity score (ISS) was 26 (interquartile range (IQR) 19 to 34) for HMICU patients and 25 (IQR 18 to 34) for GMICU patients. Compared to GMICU, HMICU patients had a higher median time frame before hospital admission and were more intensively treated in the pre-hospital phase. Crude mortality until hospital discharge was the same regardless of pre-hospital mode of transport. After adjustment for initial status, the risk of death was significantly lower (odds ratio (OR): 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47 to 0.98, P = 0.035) for HMICU compared with GMICU. This result did not change after further adjustment for ISS and overall surgical procedures.ConclusionsThis study suggests a beneficial impact of helicopter transport on mortality in severe blunt trauma. Whether this association could be due to better management in the pre-hospital phase needs to be more thoroughly assessed.

Impact of Physician‐staffed Helicopters on Pre‐hospital Patient Outcomes: A systematic review

“…Time to hospital was reported by seven studies. Three studies reported a significant shorter transport time by helicopter transport, and three studies showed a significant longer time by helicopter transport …”

“…Thirty‐day mortality was reported by five studies . One study reported a significant reduction in 30‐day mortality, when treated by PS‐HEMS, OR: 0.68 [0.47‐0.98], and one study reported significantly increased survival, OR: 6.9 [1.48‐32.5] .…”

Vorteile der Hubschrauberrettung am Beispiel eines österreichischen Notarzthubschraubers

“…Durch seinen Einsatz können für kritisch kranke Patienten Überlebensvorteile entstehen [1,2,5,13]. Demgegenüber stehen erhebliche Material-, Wartungs-und Ausbildungskosten, sodass NAH prinzipiell eine eingeschränkt verfügbare Ressource darstellen.…”

Military trauma system in Afghanistan

“…Although the concept of advanced prehospital care is familiar to European trauma systems, it is relatively underdeveloped in the US [15][16][17][18]. Although the concept of advanced prehospital care is familiar to European trauma systems, it is relatively underdeveloped in the US [15][16][17][18].…”