Can body temperature be maintained during aeromedical transport?

Background: Aeromedical transport in northern areas may be associated with hypothermia. The objective of this study was to determine whether significant hypothermia (core temperature <35 masculineC) occurs in severely injured or ill intubated patients during transport by rotary wing aircraft.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, all intubated patients over 16 years of age who were transported by rotary wing aircraft from rural hospitals or trauma scenes in northern Alberta to regional hospitals in Edmonton were eligible for study.

Analysis of prehospital transport of head-injured patients after consolidation of neurosurgery resources.

Objectives: Consolidation of neurosurgical (NS) services resulted in emergency medical services guidelines mandating transport of head-injured patients to the NS center if the Glasgow Coma Scale score is < 14 and prehospital index is > 3. This study determined what paramedic, system, or patient factors were associated with secondary head-injury transfer.

Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review from January 1996 to November 1998.