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Tue Apr 20 06:41:28 BST 2004

All other things being equal this study reaffirms what most of us already 
believe.  However, helicopters are invaluable when terrain is difficult or 
distances are great.  It would be more realistic to compare air vs road 
times rather than just distance per se.  10 - 15 miles through a mountain 
range can take a very long time indeed by road!

John

>From: Sue Roundy <Suefire6 at charter.net>
>Reply-To: Trauma & Critical Care mailing list <trauma-list at trauma.org>
>To: "Trauma-list at trauma.org" <Trauma-list at trauma.org>
>Subject: Helicopter-EMS vs. ground-EMS transport in urban center - not good
>Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 18:40:59 -0700
>
>New study confirms K's view on this topic.
>
>:-)
>Sue
>
>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14691849
>
>-------- Original Message --------
>Date: 	Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:09:18 -0500
>From: 	Bryan Bledsoe <bbledsoe at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: 	Paramedicine at yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>Abstracts
>Comparison between helicopter-EMS and ground-EMS transport time and 
>outcomes for severely injured patients in areas within a 5- to 15-mile 
>radius from a trauma center -
>
>Jack F. Basile
>Barbara Sorondo
>
>
>Helicopter transport has always provided numerous advantages in long 
>distance trauma scene flights (TSFs), but the discussion over the 
>effectiveness of helicopter transport for short distance TSFs still 
>remains.  The aim of this study is to analyze and compare transport times 
>and patient outcomes for those severely injured patients (ISS>15) 
>transported by helicopter (HEMS) and those transported by ambulance (GEMS) 
>when the incident was located within a 5- to 15-mile radius from a trauma 
>center (TC).
>
>Methods
>
>This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, population-based study using CODES 
>records from January 1995 to December 2000. All patients with an ISS>15, 
>transported to a TC within the 5-15-mile radius were included in the 
>analysis. Data were divided into two groups: HEMS and GEMS transports, and 
>compared using average transport time, ISS, MAIS, mortality, and 
>complications.
>
>Results
>
>A total of 29,074 transports were analyzed; 4,640 were severely injured 
>cases, and 69% of those were transported to TC. A total of 1,245 were EMS 
>transports within the 5-15-mile radius. Of those, 12.24% were HEMS compared 
>with 87.66% of GEMS. The mean time of HEMS was 5 minutes longer than the 
>mean of GEMS time (40.07 vs 35.04; p<0.005). When the on scene times were 
>compared between the two groups, there were no differences between scene 
>time spent by the HEMS versus the scene time spent by the GEMS. There were 
>higher in-hospital mortality rates, in-hospital mortality within 24 hours 
>of admission rates, and complications among patients transported by 
>helicopters than those transported by ambulance (p=0.001, 0.012, and 0.001, 
>respectively).
>
>
>Conclusions
>
>The average time of HEMS, when within a 5-15-mile radius of the admitted 
>hospital, is longer than the average time of transport of patients by 
>ambulance. After controlling for severity, there were higher in-hospital 
>mortality rates, in-hospital mortality within 24 hours of admission rates, 
>and complications among patients transported by helicopters than those 
>transported by ambulance.
>
>
>Publishing and Reprint Information
>http://www2.peconline.org/scripts/om.dll/serve?article=as1090312703003721&nav=full#top
>
>
>
>
>Copyright C 2004 by Prehospital Emergency Care
>
>
>*      doi:10.1197/S1090-3127(03)00372-1
>
>
>
>Bryan Bledsoe, DO, FACEP
>
>Midlothian, TX
>
>
>--
>
>Sue Roundy, M.Ed., EMT-P (ret.)
>Editor-in-Chief, Prehospital Perspective Magazine
>   http://www.prehospitalperspective.net
>email:  suefire6 at charter.net   or  sue at prehospital-perspective.com
>Board of Governors, National Association of EMT's
>   Liaison to IAEM, NNAEMSA, AAOS, & SCPCP
>Immediate Past President, Nevada Emergency Medical Assoc.
>   http://nevadaemts.org/
>Captain & President, Dayton (NV) Volunteer Fire Department
>Affiliate, AED Instructor Foundation
>EMS Advisor, Summit Performance Group - MERS^(TM) Author, Gladys-Student 
>Manual, MERS^(TM) Interactive CD
>   ©Brady Publishing
>
>email checked by Norton Anti-Virus
>
>"I am the master of my house and what my wife says shall be done."
>Frank Thornton Olmstead
>
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Helicopter-EMS vs. ground-EMS transport in urban center - not good