TY - JOUR
T1 - Trauma Versus Nontrauma Patients Treated by the Danish Helicopter Emergency Medical Service
T2 - A Register-Based Study of Patient Characteristics, Hospitalization, and Mortality
AU - Sørensen, Louise Marqvard
AU - Rognås, Leif
AU - Alstrup, Karen
N1 - Funding Information:
K.A. has received funding from the Danish HEMS research foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Objective: Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are part of many emergency health care systems, ensuring specialized treatment on scene. An accurate use is important for improved resource utilization. The aim of this study was to describe patient characteristics, hospitalization, and mortality in trauma and nontrauma patients seen by the Danish HEMS teams. Methods: The study is a registry-based study presenting data from the national Danish HEMS database. We included all HEMS missions from October 1, 2014, to April 30, 2018. Results: A total of 13,391 HEMS entries were registered, and 5,524 cases were included in the study. Trauma patients were younger (38 vs. 63 years) and had a lower level of comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index 0: 82% vs. 58%) compared with nontrauma patients. More nontrauma cases were classified with a severity score corresponding to a critical emergency. They also had a higher 30-day mortality compared with trauma patients (26% vs. 11%). Conclusion: This national study demonstrated differences in demographics, the severity profile, and mortality among trauma compared with nontrauma patients that could possibly indicate an overuse of HEMS for minor trauma cases. The results might suggest that educational efforts and a review of the current dispatch guidelines could be of importance when trying to improve the use of HEMS.
AB - Objective: Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) are part of many emergency health care systems, ensuring specialized treatment on scene. An accurate use is important for improved resource utilization. The aim of this study was to describe patient characteristics, hospitalization, and mortality in trauma and nontrauma patients seen by the Danish HEMS teams. Methods: The study is a registry-based study presenting data from the national Danish HEMS database. We included all HEMS missions from October 1, 2014, to April 30, 2018. Results: A total of 13,391 HEMS entries were registered, and 5,524 cases were included in the study. Trauma patients were younger (38 vs. 63 years) and had a lower level of comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index 0: 82% vs. 58%) compared with nontrauma patients. More nontrauma cases were classified with a severity score corresponding to a critical emergency. They also had a higher 30-day mortality compared with trauma patients (26% vs. 11%). Conclusion: This national study demonstrated differences in demographics, the severity profile, and mortality among trauma compared with nontrauma patients that could possibly indicate an overuse of HEMS for minor trauma cases. The results might suggest that educational efforts and a review of the current dispatch guidelines could be of importance when trying to improve the use of HEMS.
KW - Air Ambulances
KW - Aircraft
KW - Denmark/epidemiology
KW - Emergency Medical Services
KW - Hospitalization
KW - Humans
KW - Injury Severity Score
KW - Retrospective Studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108515551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.amj.2021.05.005
DO - 10.1016/j.amj.2021.05.005
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34535240
AN - SCOPUS:85108515551
SN - 1067-991X
VL - 40
SP - 325
EP - 330
JO - Air Medical Journal
JF - Air Medical Journal
IS - 5
ER -