Objective: Physician-based helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) provide specialist medical care to the accident scene in order to improve the survival of severely injured patients. Studies that focus on the role of physician-based HEMS in pediatric trauma are scarce. The aim of this retrospective, observational study was to determine the effect of physician-based HEMS assistance on the survival of severely injured pediatric patients.
Methods: All consecutive severely injured pediatric patients (age < 18 years and Injury Severity Score > 15) treated between October 1, 2000, and February 28, 2013, were included. The survival of patients who received medical care of physician-based HEMS was compared with the survival of patients treated by an ambulance paramedic crew (ie, emergency medical services group) only. A regression model was developed for calculating the survival benefit in the physician-based HEMS group.
Results: A total of 308 patients were included; 112 (36%) were primarily treated by emergency medical services, and 196 (64%) patients received additional physician-based HEMS assistance on scene. The model with the best diagnostic properties and fit contained physician-based HEMS assistance, 3 components of the Glasgow Coma Scale (eye, motor, and verbal) scored prehospitally (before intubation), ordinal values for the Injury Severity Scale, systolic blood pressure, and respiratory rate. This model predicted that 5 additional patients survived because of physician-based HEMS assistance. This corresponds with 2.5 additional lives saved per 100 physician-based HEMS dispatches for severely injured pediatric patients.
Conclusion: The data suggest that an additional 2.5 lives might be saved per 100 physician-based HEMS dispatches for severely injured pediatric patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2019.04.003 | DOI Listing |
Air Med J
July 2020
Trauma Research Unit Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Objective: Physician-based helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) provide specialist medical care to the accident scene in order to improve the survival of severely injured patients. Studies that focus on the role of physician-based HEMS in pediatric trauma are scarce. The aim of this retrospective, observational study was to determine the effect of physician-based HEMS assistance on the survival of severely injured pediatric patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Emerg Med
August 2018
Swedish Air Ambulance (SLA), Mora, Sweden.
Background: Physician-staffed helicopter emergency services (HEMS) can provide benefit through the delivery of specialist competence and equipment to the prehospital scene and through expedient transport of critically ill patients to specialist care. This paper describes the integration of such a system in a rural Swedish county.
Methods: This is a retrospective database study recording the outcomes of every emergency call centre dispatch request as well as the clinical and operational data from all completed missions during this service's first year in operation.
Injury
September 2013
Department of Anesthesiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Introduction: Prehospital guidelines advise advanced life support in all patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the Netherlands, it is recommended that prehospital advanced life support is particularly provided by a physician-based helicopter emergency medical service (P-HEMS) in addition to paramedic care (EMS). Previous studies have however shown that a substantial part of severe TBI patients is exclusively treated by an EMS team.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmerg Med J
August 2014
New South Wales Ambulance Service, Greater Sydney Area HEMS, Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia.
Background: The Greater Sydney Area Helicopter Emergency Medical Service provides physicians for undertaking prehospital and inter-hospital critical care. We quantified the obstetric caseload of our service with respect to primary diagnosis and interventions in order to provide targeted physician training.
Materials And Methods: Retrieval records over a 4-year period were searched to identify keywords associated with pregnancy or obstetric complications.
Injury
November 2012
Department of Anesthesiology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Introduction: Prehospital care by physician-based helicopter emergency medical services (P-HEMS) may prolong total prehospital run time. This has raised an issue of debate about the benefits of these services in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We therefore investigated the effects of P-HEMS dispatch on prehospital run time and outcome in severe TBI.
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