Association of Prehospital Time to In-Hospital Trauma Mortality in a Physician-Staffed Emergency Medicine System

Clinical decision support for severe trauma patients: Machine learning based definition of a bundle of care for hemorrhagic shock and traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND

Deviation from guidelines is frequent in emergency situations, and this may lead to increased mortality. Probably because of time constraints, 55% is the greatest reported guidelines compliance rate in severe trauma patients. This study aimed to identify among all available recommendations a reasonable bundle of items that should be followed to optimize the outcome of hemorrhagic shocks (HSs) and severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

METHODS

We first estimated the compliance with French and European guidelines using the data from the French TraumaBase registry. Then, we used a machine learning procedure to reduce the number of recommendations into a minimal set of items to be followed to minimize 7-day mortality. We evaluated the bundles using an external validation cohort.

RESULTS

This study included 5,924 trauma patients (1,414 HS and 4,955 TBI) between 2011 and August 2019 and studied compliance to 36 recommendation items. Overall compliance rate to recommendation items was 71.6% and 66.9% for HS and TBI, respectively. In HS, compliance was significantly associated with 7-day decreased mortality in univariate analysis but not in multivariate analysis (risk ratio [RR], 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-1.17; p = 0.06). In TBI, compliance was significantly associated with decreased mortality in univariate and multivariate analysis (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.92; p = 0.01). For HS, the bundle included 13 recommendation items. In the validation cohort, when this bundle was applied, patients were found to have a lower 7-day mortality rate (RR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.27-0.63; p = 0.01). In TBI, the bundle included seven items. In the validation cohort, when this bundle was applied, patients had a lower 7-day mortality rate (RR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.71; p = 0.02).

DISCUSSION

Using a machine-learning procedure, we were able to identify a subset of recommendations that minimizes 7-day mortality following traumatic HS and TBI. These two bundles remain to be evaluated in a prospective manner.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Care Management, level II.

Accessibilité aux soins en situation d’urgence : des déterminants complexes, un besoin d’outils novateurs

Les délais d’accès aux soins sont directement associés au pronostic de nombreuses situations et pathologies urgentes telles que l’arrêt cardiaque extrahospitalier, l’accident vasculaire cérébral, l’infarctus du myocarde ou le traumatisme grave. Ils représentent ainsi un critère de qualité et d’efficacité du système préhospitalier. Or, les déterminants de l’accessibilité aux soins urgents, donc des délais de prise en charge préhospitalière jusqu’au soin définitif, sont multiples, intriquant notamment des dimensions organisationnelles, géographiques et socioéconomiques, captées par différentes définitions de l’accessibilité aux soins. La mesure de l’accessibilité aux soins urgents est donc complexe et nécessite l’emploi de méthodes spécifiques. Ses déterminants sont sujets à d’importantes disparités territoriales, tant sur le plan national que local, qui conduisent à de fortes inégalités de santé en situation urgente. L’organisation du système de soins préhospitaliers doit ainsi prendre en compte l’ensemble des définitions de l’accessibilité en vie réelle, afin de répondre à des objectifs de performance ajustés aux enjeux particuliers des pathologies traceuses les plus urgentes. Les prochaines évolutions organisationnelles et technologiques en médecine d’urgence devraient permettre de mieux appréhender les déterminants de l’accessibilité à toutes les phases de la prise en charge préhospitalière, vers un rééquilibrage de l’inadéquation entre les besoins réels et l’offre possible de soins urgents.

Survival Rates and Factors Related to the Survival of Traffic Accident Patients Transported by Emergency Medical Services

Background

Traffic accident patients place a tremendous burden on health care services because they require substantial, rapid, and effective evaluation, management, and treatment by emergency medical services (EMS) to decrease morbidity and mortality rates. This study investigated the 1-month survival rate and factors related to the survival of traffic accident patients managed by EMS.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively analyzed data of traffic accident patients serviced by the Surgico Medical Ambulance and Rescue Team (SMART) at Vajira Hospital, Bangkok, from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020. The data were collected from EMS patient care reports recorded using the emergency medical triage protocol as well as the criteria-based dispatch response codes in Thailand. Survival data at 1 month were obtained from electronic medical records.

Results

Of the 340 traffic accident patients who fulfilled the study criteria, 314 (92.35%) were alive at 1 month. A multivariable analysis using multiple logistic regression identified prehospital level of consciousness, airway management, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation as factors associated with survival. Unresponsive patients had a lower survival rate than responsive patients (adjusted odds ratio [OR_adj] = 0.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05-0.56, p = 0.004). Prehospital airway management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation reduced the survival rate by 0.30 and 0.10 times, respectively (OR_adj = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.09-0.97, p = 0.045 and OR_adj = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02-0.47, p = 0.004, respectively).

Conclusion

Traffic accident patients had a high survival rate at 1 month. We identified three factors regarding EMS treatment which were related to increased survival: a prehospital responsive level of consciousness, no prehospital airway management, and no prehospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, the development of standard guidelines for the management of traffic accident patients by EMS is crucial to increase the survival rate of traffic accident patients.

Impact of emergency physician-staffed ambulances on preoperative time course and survival among injured patients requiring emergency surgery or transarterial embolization: A retrospective cohort study at a community emergency department in Japan

Injured patients requiring definitive intervention, such as surgery or transarterial embolization (TAE), are an extremely time-sensitive population. The effect of an emergency physician (EP) patient care delivery system in this important trauma subset remains unclear. We aimed to clarify whether the preoperative time course and mortality among injured patients differ between ambulances staffed by EPs and those staffed by emergency life-saving technicians (ELST). This was a retrospective cohort study at a community emergency department (ED) in Japan. We included all injured patients requiring emergency surgery or TAE who were transported directly from the ED to the operating room from January 2002 to December 2019. The primary exposure was dispatch of an EP-staffed ambulance to the prehospital scene. The primary outcome measures were preoperative time course including prehospital length of stay (LOS), ED LOS, and total time to definitive intervention. The other outcome of interest was in-hospital mortality. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to compare these outcomes between the groups. Of the 1,020 eligible patients, 353 (34.6%) were transported to the ED by an EP-staffed ambulance. In the propensity score-matched analysis with 295 pairs, the EP group showed a significant increase in median prehospital LOS (71.0 min vs. 41.0 min, P < 0.001) and total time to definitive intervention (189.0 min vs. 177.0 min, P = 0.002) in comparison with the ELST group. Conversely, ED LOS was significantly shorter in the EP group than in the ELST group (120.0 min vs. 131.0 min, P = 0.043). There was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups (8.8% vs.9.8%, P = 0.671). At a community hospital in Japan, EP-staffed ambulances were found to be associated with prolonged prehospital time, delay in definitive treatment, and did not improve survival among injured patients needing definitive hemostatic procedures compared with ELST-staffed ambulances.

Effect of Nighttime on Prehospital Care and Outcomes of Road Traffic Injuries in Asia: A Cross-Sectional Study of Data from the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS)

Introduction: Emergency response to a road traffic injury (RTI) plays a crucial role in patient survival, and the quality of the emergency response should be consistent regardless of the time of day. The aim of this study was to investigate prehospital care and survival outcomes compared between emergency response to RTI during the day and emergency response to RTI at night in Asia.Method: This cross-sectional study used data from the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcome Study (PATOS) that was conducted during 2015-2018. We included RTI patients who were transported to the emergency department (ED) by ground ambulance. That group was then categorized according to the time that the ambulance arrived on-scene. On-scene arrival during 8:00 am to 7:59 pm was defined as the daytime group, and arrival during 8:00 pm to 7:59 am was defined as the nighttime group. Multiple logistic regression was employed to identify factors associated with nighttime prehospital interventions and survival outcomes after adjustment for age, alcohol consumption, and injury severity score (ISS).Results: The final analysis included 20,105 RTI patients. Of those, 12,043 (60%) accidents occurred during the daytime, and 8,062 (40%) occurred at night. RTI patients at night were younger (mean age: 35.7 ± 17.3 vs. 39.5 ± 20.7; p < 0.001), had more alcohol consumption (15.0% vs. 4.2%; p < 0.001), and had more severe injuries (mean ISS: 6.5 ± 7.5 vs. 5.8 ± 7.0; p < 0.001) compared to the daytime group. The nighttime group had increased prehospital immobilization (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-1.31) and more prehospital intravenous (IV) access (aOR 1.36, 95%CI: 1.22-1.51). There was no significant difference in either basic or advanced airway management between the daytime and nighttime groups. The nighttime group had decreased survival in the ED (aOR: 0.80, 95%CI: 0.65-0.98); however, nighttime on-scene arrival did not impact survival to discharge (aOR: 1.10, 95%CI: 0.91-1.33).Conclusion: In the PATOS community, RTI patients that sustained their injuries at night received significantly more prehospital immobilization and IV access, and they had significantly decreased survival in the ED. The results of this study can be used to develop and enhance strategies to improve the care and outcomes of nighttime RTI in Asia.

Effects of mode and time of EMS transport on the rate and distribution of dead on arrival among trauma population transported to ACSCOT-verified trauma centers in the United States

BACKGROUND

Unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death for adults worldwide. We aimed to investigate the rates and distribution of dead on arrival (DOA) patients according to emergency medical services (EMS) mode of transport (MoT), EMS transport time (TT), injury severity score (ISS), and type of injury.

METHODS

This retrospective study utilized de-identified incident-based data from the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program Participant Use File (ACS-TQIP PUF) dataset (2013-2018) to study Adult DOA patients. DOA was defined according to the data point, "arrived with no signs of life and did not recover". Patients with unknown vitals and patients with no EMS vitals at the scene (HR = 0, RR = 0, and SBP = 0) were excluded to identify DOAs who died during transport. The DOAs included for analysis were sorted into three groups based on injury severity score [low (ISS < 15), intermediate (ISS = 15-24), and severe (ISS ≥ 25)] and subdivided according to injury type (blunt vs. penetrating), EMS Mode of transport and transport times. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The majority of the evaluated 6030 adult DOA patients were male (73.3%) and 18-64 years of age (79.6%). Most patients sustained blunt injuries (58.2%), and the most common mechanism of injury was motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Patients who traveled by helicopter EMS (HEMS) experienced less deaths than those traveling by ground EMS (GEMS) despite transporting more severely injured patients over longer time intervals. Median HEMS TTs were greater than their GEMS counterparts for blunt and penetrating injuries across all ISS groups but were associated with fewer deaths.

CONCLUSION

Helicopter emergency medical service use with intermediate and severely injured patients with penetrating injuries is associated with a reduced number of DOAs. Future studies should prospectively investigate EMS performance to confirm the findings identified in this retrospective analysis. Additionally, other factors affecting pre-hospital EMS performance (e.g., geographic variations, weather-related characteristics, in-flight interventions/procedures) should be investigated. Finally, the results of this study highlight the need for standardized HEMS utilization triage criteria.

Physician-staffed ambulance and increased in-hospital mortality of hypotensive trauma patients following prolonged prehospital stay: A nationwide study

BACKGROUND

The benefits of physician-staffed emergency medical services (EMS) for trauma patients remain unclear because of the conflicting results on survival. Some studies suggested potential delays in definitive hemostasis due to prolonged prehospital stay when physicians are dispatched to the scene. We examined hypotensive trauma patients who were transported by ambulance, with the hypothesis that physician-staffed ambulances would be associated with increased in-hospital mortality, compared with EMS personnel-staffed ambulances.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study that included hypotensive trauma patients (systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mm Hg at the scene) transported by ambulance was conducted using the Japan Trauma Data Bank (2004-2019). Physician-staffed ambulances are capable of resuscitative procedures, such as thoracotomy and surgical airway management, while EMS personnel-staffed ambulances could only provide advanced life support. In-hospital mortality and prehospital time until the hospital arrival were compared between patients who were classified based on the type of ambulance. Inverse probability weighting was conducted to adjust baseline characteristics including age, sex, comorbidities, mechanism of injury, vital signs at the scene, injury severity, and ambulance dispatch time.

RESULTS

Among 14,652 patients eligible for the study, 738 were transported by a physician-staffed ambulance. In-hospital mortality was higher in the physician-staffed ambulance than in the EMS personnel-staffed ambulance (201/699 [28.8%] vs. 2287/13,090 [17.5%]; odds ratio, 1.90 [1.61-2.26]; adjusted odds ratio, 1.22 [1.14-1.30]; p < 0.01), and the physician-staffed ambulance showed longer prehospital time (50 [36-66] vs. 37 [29-48] min, difference = 12 [11-12] min, p < 0.01). Such potential harm of the physician-staffed ambulance was only observed among patients who arrived at the hospital with persistent hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg on hospital arrival) in subgroup analyses.

CONCLUSION

Physician-staffed ambulances were associated with prolonged prehospital stay and increased in-hospital mortality among hypotensive trauma patients compared with EMS personnel-staffed ambulance.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, level IV.

Gunshot and stab wounds in France: descriptive study from a national trauma registry

PURPOSE

Severe trauma is a major problem worldwide. In France, blunt trauma (BT) is predominant and few studies are available on penetrating trauma (PT). The purpose of this study was to perform a descriptive analysis of severe gunshot (GSW) and stab wounds (SW) in patients who were treated in French trauma centers.

METHODS

Retrospective study on prospectively collected data in a national trauma registry. All adult (> 15 years) trauma patients primarily admitted in 1 of the 17 trauma centers members of the Traumabase between January 2015 to December 2018 were included. Data from patients who had a PT were compared with those who had suffered a BT over the same period. Due to the known differences between GSW and SW, sub-group analyses on data from GSW, SW and BT were also performed.

RESULTS

8128 patients were included. Twelve percent of the study group had a PT. The main mechanism of PT was SW (68.1%). Five hundred and eighty patients with PT (59.4%) required surgery within the first 24 h. Severe hemorrhage was more frequent in penetrating traumas (11.2% vs. 7.8% p < 0.001). Hospital mortality following PT was 8.9% vs 11% for blunt trauma (p = 0.047). Among PT the mortality after GSW was ten times higher than after SW (23.8% vs 2%).

CONCLUSION

This work is the largest study to date that has specifically focused on GSW and SW in France, and will help improving knowledge in managing such patients in our country.

Prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients: a retrospective analysis

Background

The time from injury to treatment is considered as one of the major determinants for patient outcome after trauma. Previous studies already attempted to investigate the correlation between prehospital time and trauma patient outcome. However, the outcome for severely injured patients is not clear yet, as little data is available from prehospital systems with both Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and physician staffed Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS). Therefore, the aim was to investigate the association between prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients in a Dutch level I trauma center.

Methods

A retrospective study was performed using data derived from the Dutch trauma registry of the National Network for Acute Care from Amsterdam UMC location VUmc over a 2-year period. Severely injured polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 16), who were treated on-scene by EMS or both EMS and HEMS and transported to our level I trauma center, were included. Patient characteristics, prehospital time, comorbidity, mechanism of injury, type of injury, HEMS assistance, prehospital Glasgow Coma Score and ISS were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The outcome measure was in-hospital mortality.

Results

In total, 342 polytrauma patients were included in the analysis. The total mortality rate was 25.7% (n = 88). Similar mean prehospital times were found between the surviving and non-surviving patient groups, 45.3 min (SD 14.4) and 44.9 min (SD 13.2) respectively (p = 0.819). The confounder-adjusted analysis revealed no significant association between prehospital time and mortality (p = 0.156).

Conclusion

This analysis found no association between prehospital time and mortality in polytrauma patients. Future research is recommended to explore factors of influence on prehospital time and mortality.

Prolonged Prehospital Time is a Risk Factor for Pneumonia in Trauma (the PRE-TRIP study): A Retrospective Analysis of the United States National Trauma Data Bank

BACKGROUND

Although multiple risk factors for development of pneumonia in patients with trauma sustained in a motor vehicle accident have been studied, the effect of prehospital time on pneumonia incidence post-trauma is unknown.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Is prolonged prehospital time an independent risk factor for pneumonia?

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected clinical data from 806,012 motor vehicle accident trauma incidents from the roughly 750 trauma hospitals contributing data to the National Trauma Data Bank between 2010 and 2016.

RESULTS

Prehospital time was independently associated with development of pneumonia post-motor vehicle trauma (p < 0.001). This association was primarily driven by patients with low Glasgow Coma Scale scores. Post-trauma pneumonia was uncommon (1.5% incidence) but was associated with a significant increase in mortality (p < 0.001, 4.3% mortality without pneumonia vs. 12.1% mortality with pneumonia). Other pneumonia risk factors included age, sex, race, primary payor, trauma center teaching status, bed size, geographic region, intoxication, comorbid lung disease, steroid use, lower Glasgow Coma Scale score, higher Injury Severity Scale score, blood product transfusion, chest trauma, and respiratory burns.

INTERPRETATION

Increased prehospital time is an independent risk factor for development of pneumonia and increased mortality in patients with trauma caused by a motor vehicle accident. Although prehospital time is often not modifiable, its recognition as a pneumonia risk factor is important as prolonged prehospital time may need to be considered in subsequent decision making.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

Not applicable.

Impact of closure of the in-house psychiatric care unit on prehospital and emergency ward length of stay and disposition locations in patients who attempted suicide: A retrospective before-and-after cohort study at a community hospital in Japan

Suicide is an increasingly serious public health care concern worldwide. The impact of decreased in-house psychiatric resources on emergency care for suicidal patients has not been thoroughly examined. We evaluated the effects of closing an in-hospital psychiatric ward on the prehospital and emergency ward length of stay (LOS) and disposition location in patients who attempted suicide.This was a retrospective before-and-after study at a community emergency department (ED) in Japan. On March 31, 2014, the hospital closed its 50 psychiatric ward beds and outpatient consultation days were decreased from 5 to 2 days per week. Electronic health record data of suicidal patients who were brought to the ED were collected for 5 years before the decrease in in-hospital psychiatric services (April 1, 2009-March 31, 2014) and 5 years after the decrease (April 1, 2014-March 31, 2019). One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to compare prehospital and emergency ward LOS, and discharge location between the 2 groups.Of the 1083 eligible patients, 449 (41.5%) were brought to the ED after the closure of the psychiatric ward. Patients with older age, burns, and higher comorbidity index values, and those requiring endotracheal intubation, surgery, and emergency ward admission, were more likely to receive ED care after the psychiatric ward closure. In the propensity matched analysis with 418 pairs, the after-closure group showed a significant increase in median prehospital LOS (44.0 minutes vs 51.0 minutes, P < .001) and emergency ward LOS (3.0 days vs 4.0 days, P = .014) compared with the before-closure group. The rate of direct home return was significantly lower in the after-closure group compared with the before-closure group (87.1% vs 81.6%, odds ratio: 0.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.96).The prehospital and emergency ward LOS for patients who attempted suicide in the study site increased significantly after a decrease in hospital-based mental health services. Conversely, there was significant reduction in direct home discharge after the decrease in in-house psychiatric care. These results have important implications for future policy to address the increasing care needs of patients who attempt suicide.

Health Care Resources and 24,910 Deaths Due to Traffic Accidents: An Ecological Mortality Study in Poland

Background: Deaths due to traffic accidents are preventable and the access to health care is an important determinant of traffic accident case fatality. This study aimed to assess the relation between mortality due to traffic accidents and health care resources (HCR), at the population level, in 66 sub-regions of Poland. Methods: An area-based HCR index was delivered from the rates of physicians, nurses, and hospital beds. Associations between mortality from traffic accidents and the HCR index were tested using multivariate Poisson regression models. Results: In the sub-regions studied, the average mortality from traffic accidents was 11.7 in 2010 and 9.3/100.000 in 2015. After adjusting for sex, age and over time trends in mortality, out-of-hospital deaths were more frequently compared to hospitalized fatal cases (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.68, 95% CI 1.45–1.93). Compared to sub-regions with high HCR, mortality from traffic accidents was higher in sub-regions with low and moderate HCR (IRR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.11–1.42 and IRR = 1.19, 95% CI 1.02–1.38, respectively), which reflected the differences in out-of-hospital mortality most pronounced in car accidents. Conclusions: Poor HCR is an important factor that explains the territorial differentiation of mortality due to traffic accidents in Poland. The high percentage of out-of-hospital deaths indicates the importance of preventive measures and the need for improvement in access to health care to reduce mortality due to traffic accidents.

Association of transport time with adverse outcome in paediatric trauma

Background

It is unclear how the length of prehospital transport time affects outcome in paediatric trauma. This study evaluated the association of transport time from alarm to arrival at hospital with adverse outcome in paediatric trauma patients in Sweden.

Methods

This was a retrospective study based on prospectively collected data from the Swedish trauma registry between 2012 and 2019 of children less than 18 years with major trauma (New Injury Severity Score (NISS) greater than 15). The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, and secondary outcomes were emergency interventions (e.g., chest tube or laparotomy) and low functional outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale 2–3). Primary exposure was transport time from alarm to arrival at hospital. Co-variables in multivariable regressions were gender, age, ASA score before injury, injury intention, dominant injury type, NISS, Glasgow Coma Scale score, prehospital competence and hospital level.

Results

Among 597 patients, 30-day mortality was 9.8 per cent, emergency interventions were performed in 34.7 per cent and low functional outcome was registered in 15.9 per cent. Median transport time was 51 (i.q.r. 37–68) minutes. After adjustment for patient, injury and hospital characteristics, no association between longer transport time and 30-day mortality, frequency of emergency interventions or lower functional outcome could be found. Treatment at a university hospital was associated with a lower risk for 30-day mortality (odds ratio 0.23 (95 per cent c.i. 0.08 to 0.68), P = 0.008).

Conclusion

Longer transport time after major paediatric trauma was not associated with adverse outcome. Hence, it seems that longer transport distances should not be an obstacle against centralization of paediatric trauma care. Further studies should focus on the role of prehospital competence and other transport-associated parameters and their association with adverse outcome.

Optimization for Locating Emergency Medical Service Facilities: A Case Study for Health Planning from China

Purpose

Rational location of emergency medical service (EMS) facilities could improve access to EMS, and thus assist in saving patients’ lives and improving their health outcomes. A considerable amount of spatial optimization research has been devoted to the development of models to support location planning in the context of EMS, with extensive applications in policy making around the world. However, in China, studies on the location of EMS facilities have not been paid enough attention to, let alone their practical applications. This paper conducted location optimization for EMS facilities in Chengdu, one of the biggest cities in southwest China with more than 16.5 million population, aiming to optimize the EMS system by adding (upgrading) a minimum number of EMS facilities to achieve a given population coverage.

Methods

Location optimization was conducted according to regional health policy goal for the EMS system in Chengdu, China, 2017. The nearest-neighbor approach was used to calculate the shortest travel time based on geographical information system (GIS). The location set covering model was used to formulate the optimization problem under China’s context, and genetic algorithm (GA) was employed to determine the optimized locations.

Results

The results showed that a minimum number of 55 new facilities were required to upgrade to EMS facilities to achieve the policy goal of 90% population coverage of EMS within 15 minutes. Access to EMS also improved substantially in terms of shortest travel time after facility upgrading. The weighted median shortest travel time to EMS facilities in Chengdu decreased by 14.57%, from 6.45 minutes to 5.51 minutes.

Conclusion

Our study showed that the solution could effectively achieve the policy goal of population coverage with a minimum number of new EMS facilities. Our findings would support evidence-based decision-making in future EMS planning in China.

Prehospital Response Time of the Emergency Medical Service during Mass Casualty Incidents and the Effect of Triage: A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

Prehospital time affects survival in trauma patients. Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) are overwhelming events where medical care exceeds available resources. This study aimed at evaluating the prehospital time during MCIs and investigating the effect of triage.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed using Florida's Event Medical Services Tracking and Reporting System database. All patients involved in MCIs during 2018 were accessed, and prehospital time intervals were evaluated and compared to that of non-MCIs. The effect of MCI triage and field triage (Field Triage Criteria) on prehospital time was evaluated.

RESULTS

In 2018, it was estimated that 2236 unique MCIs occurred in Florida, with a crude incidence of 10.1-10.9/100000 people. 2180 EMS units arrived at the hospital for patient disposition with a median alarm-to-hospital time of 43.74 minutes, significantly longer than non-MCIs (39.15 min; P < 0.001). MCI triage and field triage were both associated with shorter alarm-to-hospital time (39.37 min and 37.55 min, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

MCIs resulted in longer prehospital time intervals than non-MCIs. This finding suggests that additional efforts are needed to reduce the prehospital time for MCI patients. MCI triage and field triage were both associated with shorter alarm-to-hospital times. Widespread use may improve prehospital MCI care.

Advanced Life Support vs. Basic Life Support for Patients With Trauma in Prehospital Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Advanced Life Support (ALS) is regarded to be associated with improved survival in pre-hospital trauma care when compared to Basic Life Support (BLS) irrespective of lack of evidence. The aim of this study is to ascertain ALS improves survival for trauma in prehospital settings when compared to BLS.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for published controlled trials (CTs), and observational studies that were published until Aug 2017. The population of interest were adults (>18 years old) trauma patients who were transported by ground transportation and required resuscitation in prehospital settings. We compared outcomes between the ALS and BLS groups. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcomes were neurological outcome and time spent on scene.

Results: We identified 2,502 studies from various databases and 10 studies were included in the analysis (two CTs, and eight observational studies). The outcomes were not statistically significant between the ALS and BLS groups (pooled OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.95 to 1.36 for mortality, pooled OR 1.12; 95% CI 0.88 to 1.42 for good neurological outcomes, pooled mean difference −0.96; 95% CI−6.64 to 4.72 for on-scene time) in CTs. In observational studies, ALS prolonged on-scene time and increased mortality (pooled OR 1.56; 95% CI: 1.31 to 1.86 for mortality, and pooled mean difference, 1.26; 95% CI: 0.07 to 2.45 for on-scene time).

Conclusions: In prehospital settings, the present study showed no advantages of ALS on the outcomes in patients with trauma compared to BLS.

Impact of the SARS-COV-2 outbreak on epidemiology and management of major traumain France: a registry-based study (the COVITRAUMA study)

Background

Emerging evidence suggests that the reallocation of health care resources during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts health care system. This study describes the epidemiology and the outcome of major trauma patients admitted to centers in France during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods

This retrospective observational study included all consecutive trauma patients aged 15 years and older admitted into 15 centers contributing to the TraumaBase® registry during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in France. This COVID-19 trauma cohort was compared to historical cohorts (2017–2019).

Results

Over a 4 years-study period, 5762 patients were admitted between the first week of February and mid-June. This cohort was split between patients admitted during the first 2020 pandemic wave in France (pandemic period, 1314 patients) and those admitted during the corresponding period in the three previous years (2017–2019, 4448 patients). Trauma patient demographics changed substantially during the pandemic especially during the lockdown period, with an observed reduction in both the absolute numbers and proportion exposed to road traffic accidents and subsequently admitted to traumacenters (348 annually 2017–2019 [55.4% of trauma admissions] vs 143 [36.8%] in 2020 p < 0.005). The in-hospital observed mortality and predicted mortality during the pandemic period were not different compared to the non-pandemic years.

Conclusions

During this first wave of COVID-19 in France, and more specifically during lockdown there was a significant reduction of patients admitted to designated trauma centers. Despite the reallocation and reorganization of medical resources this reduction prevented the saturation of the trauma rescue chain and has allowed maintaining a high quality of care for trauma patients.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13049-021-00864-8.

ISS is not an appropriate tool to estimate overtriage

PURPOSE

The aim of this work is to study a cohort of patients of ISS < 15 admitted to a TC, and to determine the number of patients that ultimately benefited from the skills and resources specific of a level 1 trauma center.

METHODS

Retrospective study from a prospective cohort of patients admitted to TC (Beaujon Hospital, APHP) for suspected severe trauma from January 2011 to December 2017. The main outcome criterion was the use of surgery or interventional radiology within the first 24 h after admission of patients with ISS < 15. The secondary outcomes were stratified into severe (mortality, resuscitation care, length of stay in intensive care units) and non-severe criteria (mild head injury, hospital discharge or transfer within 24 h).

RESULTS

Of 3035 patients admitted during the study period, 1409 with an ISS < 15 were included, corresponding to a theoretical overtriage rate of 46.4%. Among these, 611 patients (43.4%) underwent emergency intervention within the first 24 h (586 surgical interventions, 19 direct transfers to the operating theater and 6 acts of interventional radiology), 238 (16.9%) of patients presented with severe and 531 (38%) with non-severe outcome criteria.

CONCLUSION

This work demonstrates that in a cohort of patients classified as ISS < 15 admitted to a TC, a considerable amount of TC-specific resources are required, and patients present with severe outcome criteria despite being classified as overtriaged. These results suggest that triage of trauma patients should be based on resource use and clinical outcome rather than anatomic criteria.

Effect of Distance to Trauma Centre, Trauma Centre Level, and Trauma Centre Region on Fatal Injuries among Motorcyclists in Taiwan

Background: Studies have suggested that trauma centre-related risk factors, such as distance to the nearest trauma hospital, are strong predictors of fatal injuries among motorists. Few studies have used a national dataset to study the effect of trauma centre-related risk factors on fatal injuries among motorists and motorcyclists in a country where traffic is dominated by motorcycles. This study investigated the effect of distance from the nearest trauma hospital on fatal injuries from two-vehicle crashes in Taiwan from 2017 to 2019. Methods: A crash dataset and hospital location dataset were combined. The crash dataset was extracted from the National Taiwan Traffic Crash Dataset from 1 January 2017 through 31 December 2019. The primary exposure in this study was distance to the nearest trauma hospital. This study performed a multiple logistic regression to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for fatal injuries. Results: The multivariate logistic regression models indicated that motorcyclists involved in crashes located ≥5 km from the nearest trauma hospital and in Eastern Taiwan were approximately five times more likely to sustain fatal injuries (AOR = 5.26; 95% CI: 3.69–7.49). Conclusions: Distance to, level of, and region of the nearest trauma centre are critical risk factors for fatal injuries among motorcyclists but not motorists. To reduce the mortality rate of trauma cases among motorcyclists, interventions should focus on improving access to trauma hospitals.

Vacuum mattress or long spine board: which method of spinal stabilisation in trauma patients is more time consuming? A simulation study

BACKGROUND

Spinal stabilisation is recommended for prehospital trauma treatment. In Germany, vacuum mattresses are traditionally used for spinal stabilisation, whereas in anglo-american countries, long spine boards are preferred. While it is recommended that the on-scene time is as short as possible, even less than 10 minutes for unstable patients, spinal stabilisation is a time-consuming procedure. For this reason, the time needed for spinal stabilisation may prevent the on-scene time from being brief. The aim of this simulation study was to compare the time required for spinal stabilisation between a scoop stretcher in conjunction with a vacuum mattress and a long spine board.

METHODS

Medical personnel of different professions were asked to perform spinal immobilizations with both methods. A total of 172 volunteers were immobilized under ideal conditions as well as under realistic conditions. A vacuum mattress was used for 78 spinal stabilisations, and a long spinal board was used for 94. The duration of the procedures were measured by video analysis.

RESULTS

Under ideal conditions, spinal stabilisation on a vacuum mattress and a spine board required 254.4 s (95 % CI 235.6-273.2 s) and 83.4 s (95 % CI 77.5-89.3 s), respectively (p < 0.01). Under realistic conditions, the vacuum mattress and spine board required 358.3 s (95 % CI 316.0-400.6 s) and 112.6 s (95 % CI 102.6-122.6 s), respectively (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Spinal stabilisation for trauma patients is significantly more time consuming on a vacuum mattress than on a long spine board. Considering that the prehospital time of EMS should not exceed 60 minutes and the on-scene time should not exceed 30 minutes or even 10 minutes if the patient is in extremis, based on our results, spinal stabilisation on a vacuum mattress may consume more than 20 % of the recommended on-scene time. In contrast, stabilisation on a spine board requires only one third of the time required for that on a vacuum mattress. We conclude that a long spine board may be feasible for spinal stabilisation for critical trauma patients with timesensitive life threatening ABCDE-problems to ensure the shortest possible on-scene time for prehospital trauma treatment, not least if a patient has to be rescued from an open or inaccessible terrain, especially that with uneven overgrown land.

[In-cabin rapid sequence induction : Experience from alpine air rescue on reduction of the prehospital time]

Das Überleben von Schwerverletzten ist von der schnellen und effizienten prähospitalen Versorgung abhängig. Die Zeit vom Unfallereignis bis zum Eintreffen des Patienten im Schockraum konnte leider trotz aller Bemühungen der vergangenen Jahrzehnte und trotz des immer dichteren Netzes an Rettungshubschraubern (RTH), bislang nicht relevant verkürzt werden. Ein gewisser Anteil der Schwerverletzten benötigt bereits prähospital eine Narkoseeinleitung (typischerweise als „rapid sequence induction“, RSI). Durch die medizinischen und technischen Fortschritte der Videolaryngoskopie sowie der im deutschsprachigen Raum eingesetzten Luftrettungsmittel erscheint die Möglichkeit, unter bestimmten Bedingungen die Narkoseeinleitung und das Airway-Management in der Kabine des RTH – also während des Transports – durchzuführen, als mögliche Option, um die Prähospitalzeit zu verkürzen. Für die sichere Durchführung sind die im vorliegenden Beitrag behandelten Aspekte elementar. Beispielhaft wird ein Prozedere vorgestellt, das sich seit geraumer Zeit bewährt hat. Die „in cabin RSI“ sollte allerdings nur von zuvor trainierten Teams bei Vorliegen einer klaren „standard operating procedure“ durchgeführt werden.

Evaluating the impact of prehospital care on mortality following major trauma in New Zealand: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Injury is a leading cause of death and health loss in New Zealand and internationally. The potentially fatal or severe consequences of many injuries can be reduced through an optimally structured prehospital trauma care system that can provide timely and appropriate care.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between emergency medical services (EMS) care and survival to hospital for major trauma cases in New Zealand.

METHODS

This project is a retrospective cohort study of New Zealand major trauma cases attended by EMS providers over a 2-year period. Outcomes include survival to hospital and survival in hospital for at least 24 hours. The project has three phases: (1) identification of the cohort and assembling a bespoke longitudinal dataset linking EMS, New Zealand Major Trauma Registry and Coronial data; (2) describing the pathways and processes of care to inform an investigation of the relationships between types of EMS care and survival using propensity score modelling to adjust for case-mix differences; (3) assessment of the implications for future practice, policy and research.

DISCUSSION

The study findings will help identify opportunities to optimise the delivery of EMS care in New Zealand by informing the development or revision of existing major trauma EMS policies and guidelines, and to provide a baseline for monitoring the impact of future initiatives. Establishing an evidence-base will support a whole-of-system appraisal that could include broader complex variables relating to healthcare services throughout the continuum of trauma care.

Physician-led prehospital management is associated with reduced mortality in severe blunt trauma patients: a retrospective analysis of the Japanese nationwide trauma registry

BACKGROUND

Although the results of previous studies suggested the effectiveness of physician-led prehospital trauma management, it has been uncertain because of the limited number of high-quality studies. Furthermore, the advantage of physician-led prehospital management might have been overestimated due to the shortened prehospital time by helicopter transportation in some studies. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of physician-led prehospital management independent of prehospital time. Also, subgroup analysis was performed to explore the subpopulation that especially benefit from physician-led prehospital management.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of Japan's nationwide trauma registry. Severe blunt trauma patients, defined by Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥16, who were transported directly to a hospital between April 2009 and March 2019 were evaluated. In-hospital mortality was compared between groups dichotomized by the occupation of primary prehospital healthcare provider (i.e., physician or paramedic), using 1:4 propensity score-matched analysis. The propensity score was calculated using potential confounders including patient demographics, mechanism of injury, vital signs at the scene of injury, ISS, and total time from injury to hospital arrival. Subpopulations that especially benefit from physician-led prehospital management were explored by assessing interaction effects between physician-led prehospital management and patient characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 30,551 patients (physician-led: 2976, paramedic-led: 27,575) were eligible for analysis, of whom 2690 propensity score-matched pairs (physician-led: 2690, paramedic-led: 10,760) were generated and compared. Physician-led group showed significantly decreased in-hospital mortality than paramedic-led group (in-hospital mortality: 387 [14.4%] and 1718 [16.0%]; odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.88 [0.78-1.00], p = 0.044). Patients with age < 65 years, ISS ≥25, Abbreviated Injury Scale in pelvis and lower extremities ≥3, and total prehospital time < 60 min were likely to benefit from physician-led prehospital management.

CONCLUSIONS

Physician-led prehospital trauma management was significantly associated with reduced in-hospital mortality independent of prehospital time. The findings of exploratory subgroup analysis would be useful for the future research to establish efficient dispatch system of physician team.

Afflux massif de victimes pédiatriques

Toute crise sanitaire (épidémie, pandémie, actes terroristes, catastrophes naturelles ou faits de guerre) doit être anticipée par la mise en place d’un plan local, régional mais aussi national adapté aux enfants compte tenu de leur vulnérabilité. La faible expérience des équipes associée à une littérature pauvre nous oblige à extrapoler les concepts appliqués à l’adulte et à la médecine de guerre alors que les particularités anatomo-physiologiques liés à l’âge imposent des lésions et des stratégies de prise en charge spécifiques. Le shock index ajusté sur l’âge (SIPA) est un bon reflet de l’état de choc hémorragique ainsi qu’un bon indicateur des besoins de transfusion, d’admission en soins critiques, de ventilation et de mortalité chez les enfants traumatisés et pourrait être utile au triage. L’afflux de victimes pédiatriques reste un défi organisationnel, médical et humain. L’optimisation de la prise en charge repose sur une mutualisation des connaissances et une implication des différents acteurs (pédiatre, urgentiste, anesthésiste, réanimateur et chirurgien) afin de maintenir la qualité des soins. Il est important d’homogénéiser l’organisation et la formation en ciblant une communication multimodale, en s’appuyant sur des recommandations argumentées et des outils innovants qui s’inspirent de ceux qui ont été utilisés durant la récente pandémie (place du numérique). La simulation (procédurale, humaine, numérique, de masse) est un outil nécessaire et efficace pour l’entraînement régulier des équipes afin de faire face à ces situations exceptionnelles.

Spatial accessibility to emergency care in Sichuan province in China

Timely access to emergency care can substantially improve overall population's health outcomes. However, currently existed evidence focusing on access to emergency care in China remains insufficient. A better understanding of emergency care from the perspective of spatial accessibility is therefore essential to assist in future healthcare planning. This study provided a brief introduction to the emergency medical service system of China, and assessed the spatial accessibility of emergency care as well as its associated social-economic characteristics based on Sichuan province. Based on populational and hospital administrative data in 2018, we employed the nearest-neighbor method to measure the spatial accessibility while identifying its associated social-economic factors via conventional Ordinary Least Square (OLS) model. The shortest travel time analysis reported a relatively high level of overall spatial accessibility to emergency care in Sichuan. However, substantial geographical disparity in accessibility could nevertheless be observed throughout the province, with the eastern area presenting much higher accessibility than the western area. Regression results suggested that county-level discrepancies in accessibility could be significantly attributed to the variance in local economic development, urbanization level and administrative area. These findings indicated that long-term efforts need to be made by central government on optimizing the allocation of healthcare resources, as well as on fortifying financial support and providing preferential policies for economically disadvantaged regions.

Funding sources for research: A research primer for low- and middle-income countries

Research is a fundamental component of the development of quality emergency care systems. Developing qualified professionals and programs to conduct emergency care research is essential to understanding epidemiology in low resource settings. This leads to evaluating research outcomes, developing clinical practice guidelines and program implementation. This paper aims to introduce the reader to opportunities for research funding at various stages of one's career. We will discuss concepts necessary to obtain funding for research, a crucial step towards initiating a research program. The chapter further describes competitive funding mechanisms including governmental agencies, foundations and private industry along with organisations that offer funding for global health and emergency care research. We describe categories of grants specific to a stage of an investigator's career, developing a team for a proposal and the grant application process.

A scoping review of worldwide studies evaluating the effects of prehospital time on trauma outcomes

BACKGROUND

Annually, over 1 billion people sustain traumatic injuries, resulting in over 900,000 deaths in Africa and 6 million deaths globally. Timely response, intervention, and transportation in the prehospital setting reduce morbidity and mortality of trauma victims. Our objective was to describe the existing literature evaluating trauma morbidity and mortality outcomes as a function of prehospital care time to identify gaps in literature and inform future investigation.

MAIN BODY

We performed a scoping review of published literature in MEDLINE. Results were limited to English language publications from 2009 to 2020. Included articles reported trauma outcomes and prehospital time. We excluded case reports, reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, comments, editorials, letters, and conference proceedings. In total, 808 articles were identified for title and abstract review. Of those, 96 articles met all inclusion criteria and were fully reviewed. Higher quality studies used data derived from trauma registries. There was a paucity of literature from studies in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), with only 3 (3%) of articles explicitly including African populations. Mortality was an outcome measure in 93% of articles, predominantly defined as "in-hospital mortality" as opposed to mortality within a specified time frame. Prehospital time was most commonly assessed as crude time from EMS dispatch to arrival at a tertiary trauma center. Few studies evaluated physiologic morbidity outcomes such as multi-organ failure.

CONCLUSION

The existing literature disproportionately represents high-income settings and most commonly assessed in-hospital mortality as a function of crude prehospital time. Future studies should focus on how specific prehospital intervals impact morbidity outcomes (e.g., organ failure) and mortality at earlier time points (e.g., 3 or 7 days) to better reflect the effect of early prehospital resuscitation and transport. Trauma registries may be a tool to facilitate such research and may promote higher quality investigations in Africa and LMICs.

Spatiotemporal access to emergency medical services in Wuhan, China: accounting for scene and transport time intervals

BACKGROUND

Access as a primary indicator of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) efficiency has been widely studied over the last few decades. Most previous studies considered one-way trips, either getting ambulances to patients or transporting patients to hospitals. This research assesses spatiotemporal access to EMS at the shequ (the smallest administrative unit) level in Wuhan, China, attempting to fill a gap in literature by considering and comparing both trips in the evaluation of EMS access.

METHODS

Two spatiotemporal access measures are adopted here: the proximity-based travel time obtained from online map services and the enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E-2SFCA) which is a gravity-based model. First, the travel time is calculated for the two trips involved in one EMS journey: one is from the nearest EMS station to the scene (i.e. scene time interval (STI)) and the other is from the scene to the nearest hospital (i.e. transport time interval (TTI)). Then, the predicted travel time is incorporated into the E-2SFCA model to calculate the access measure considering the availability of the service provider as well as the population in need. For both access measures, the calculation is implemented for peak hours and off-peak hours.

RESULTS

Both methods showed a marked decrease in EMS access during peak traffic hours, and differences in spatial patterns of ambulance and hospital access. About 73.9% of shequs can receive an ambulance or get to the nearest hospital within 10 min during off-peak periods, and this proportion decreases to about 45.5% for peak periods. Most shequs with good ambulance access but poor hospital access are in the south of the study area. In general, the central areas have better ambulance, hospital and overall access than peripheral areas, particularly during off-peak periods.

CONCLUSIONS

In addition to the impact of peak traffic periods on EMS access, we found that good ambulance access does not necessarily guarantee good hospital access nor the overall access, and vice versa.

Association Between State Medicaid Expansion and Emergency Access to Acute Care Hospitals in the United States

IMPORTANCE

State decisions not to expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could reduce emergency access to acute care hospitals.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the relationship between state Medicaid expansion and emergency access to acute care hospitals in the United States.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cross-sectional study linked hospital-level data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services from 2007 to 2017 to US Census data for all 50 US states and the District of Columbia. Geospatial analyses and difference-in-differences regression models were used to compare temporal changes in the size of the population without 30-minute access to acute care hospitals between 32 states that expanded Medicaid with the population without access in 19 that did not, before and after expansion. Analyses focused on the total population and those with low incomes; secondary analyses examined emergency access to safety-net hospitals.

EXPOSURES

State-level Medicaid expansion.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Population without emergency access to an acute care hospital, defined as living outside a 30-minute drive of any hospital.

RESULTS

States that did not expand Medicaid experienced an increase in the population without access to hospitals overall (without expansion: 6.76% to 6.79% [0.03%]; vs with expansion: 5.65% to 5.35% [-0.30%]; difference-in-differences, 0.33%; 95% CI, 0.33%-0.34%; P < .001) and for low-income persons (without expansion: 7.43% to 7.39% [-0.04%]; vs with expansion: 6.25% to 6.15% [-0.10%]; difference-in-differences, 0.06%; 95% CI, 0.05%-0.07%; P < .001). If access changes in nonexpansion states were the same as expansion states, an estimated 421 000 more persons overall and 48 000 more low-income persons would have retained access. States that did not expand Medicaid experienced an increase in the population without access to safety-net hospitals overall (46.91% to 47.70% [0.79%] vs 33.94% to 33.07% [-0.87%]; difference-in-differences, 1.66%; 95% CI, 1.64%-1.66%; P < .001) and for low-income persons (45.28% to 46.14% [0.86%] vs 33.00% to 32.23% [-0.77%]; difference-in-differences, 1.63%; 95% CI, 1.63%-1.67%; P < .001). If access changes in nonexpansion states were the same as expansion states, an estimated 2 242 000 more persons overall and 364 000 more low-income persons would have retained access.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

States that did not expand Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act were associated with worse emergency access to acute care hospitals compared with states that expanded Medicaid.

Prehospital Intervals and In-Hospital Trauma Mortality: A Retrospective Study from a Level I Trauma Center

BACKGROUND

The increase in mortality and total prehospital time (TPT) seen in Qatar appear to be realistic. However, existing reports on the influence of TPT on mortality in trauma patients are conflicting. This study aimed to explore the impact of prehospital time on the in-hospital outcomes.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of data on patients transferred alive by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and admitted to Hamad Trauma Center (HTC) of Hamad General Hospital (HGH; Doha, Qatar) from June 2017 through May 2018 was conducted. This study was centered on the National Trauma Registry database. Patients were categorized based on the trauma triage activation and prehospital intervals, and comparative analysis was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 1,455 patients were included, of which nearly one-quarter of patients required urgent and life-saving care at a trauma center (T1 activations). The overall TPT was 70 minutes and the on-scene time (OST) was 24 minutes. When compared to T2 activations, T1 patients were more likely to have been involved in road traffic injuries (RTIs); experienced head and chest injuries; presented with higher Injury Severity Score (ISS: median = 22); and had prolonged OST (27 minutes) and reduced TPT (65 minutes; P = .001). Prolonged OST was found to be associated with higher mortality in T1 patients, whereas TPT was not associated.

CONCLUSIONS

In-hospital mortality was independent of TPT but associated with longer OST in severely injured patients. The survival benefit may extend beyond the golden hour and may depend on the injury characteristics, prehospital, and in-hospital settings.

Impact of a New Helicopter Base on Transport Time and Survival in a Rural Adult Trauma Population

BACKGROUND

Significant disparities in access to prompt helicopter transport exist among rural trauma populations. We evaluated the impact of an additional helicopter base on transport time and mortality in a rural adult trauma population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with trauma transported by helicopter from scene to a level one trauma center between 2014 and 2018. A new rural helicopter base added to the trauma center's catchment area in 2016 served as the transition time for an interrupted time series analysis. Patients injured in this base's county and adjoining counties were analyzed. Baseline characteristics were compared with a Student's t-test and Pearson's chi-squared test. Cox and linear regression models evaluated the new base's effect on mortality and transport time, respectively.

RESULTS

A total of 332 patients were analyzed: 120 (36.1%) transported before the addition of the new helicopter base and 212 (63.9%) transported after. Patients transported after the addition of the base had higher injury severity score (13.7 versus 10.1, P < 0.001) and were more likely to receive blood en route (19.3% versus 6.7%, P = 0.005). After the addition of the base, there was a decreased hazard ratio for mortality (hazard ratio 0.26, 95% confidence interval: 0.11-0.65, P = 0.004) with no significant change in transport time (-36.7 min, P = 0.071) for the area.

CONCLUSIONS

Local helicopter transport units may confer improved survival for the injured patient. This study demonstrates the important role of helicopter transport within a regional trauma system and the impact that expanded access to rapid air transport can have on mortality.