Characteristics of patients treated by the Danish Helicopter Emergency Medical Service from 2014-2018: a nationwide population-based study

Autor: Troels Martin Hansen, Karen Alstrup, Jens Aage Kølsen Petersen, Leif Rognås, Lars Knudsen, Thea Palsgaard Møller, Charlotte Barfod
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Male
Emergency Medical Services
Denmark
medicine.medical_treatment
Myocardial Infarction
Psychological intervention
Crew
Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
0302 clinical medicine
Critical care interventions
Helicopter emergency medical service
Medicine
Intubation
030212 general & internal medicine
Child
Diagnostics
Ultrasonography
Original Research
Severity score
Aged
80 and over
education.field_of_study
Trauma Severity Indices
lcsh:Medical emergencies. Critical care. Intensive care. First aid
Middle Aged
National
Child
Preschool
Emergency Medicine
language
Female
Medical emergency
Adult
Adolescent
Critical Care
Population
Danish
Young Adult
03 medical and health sciences
Age Distribution
Severity of illness
Intubation
Intratracheal
Humans
Sex Distribution
education
Aged
Retrospective Studies
business.industry
Infant
Newborn
Infant
030208 emergency & critical care medicine
Air Ambulances
lcsh:RC86-88.9
medicine.disease
language.human_language
Population based study
Helicopter EMS
Wounds and Injuries
Nervous System Diseases
business
Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
Zdroj: Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, Vol 27, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2019)
Alstrup, K, Møller, T P, Knudsen, L, Hansen, T M, Petersen, J A K, Rognås, L & Barfod, C 2019, ' Characteristics of patients treated by the Danish Helicopter Emergency Medical Service from 2014-2018 : a nationwide population-based study ', Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine, vol. 27, no. 1, 102 . https://doi.org/10.1186/s13049-019-0672-9
Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine
ISSN: 1757-7241
DOI: 10.1186/s13049-019-0672-9
Popis: Background A national Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) was introduced in Denmark in 2014 to ensure the availability of physician-led critical care for all patients regardless of location. Appropriate dispatch of HEMS is known to be complex, and resource utilisation is a highly relevant topic. Population-based studies on patient characteristics are fundamental when evaluating and optimising a system. The aim of this study was to describe the patient population treated by the Danish HEMS in terms of demographics, pre-hospital diagnostics, severity of illness or injury, and the critical care interventions performed. Method The study is a retrospective nationwide population-based study based on data gathered from the Danish HEMS database. We included primary missions resulting in a patient encounter registered between October 1st 2014 and April 30th 2018. Results Of 13.391 dispatches registered in the study period we included 7133 (53%) primary missions with patient encounter: 4639 patients were air lifted to hospital, 174 patients were escorted to hospital by the HEMS physician in an ambulance, and in 2320 cases HEMS assisted the ground crew on scene but did not escort the patient to hospital. Patient age ranged from 0-99 years and 64% of the population were men. The median age was 60 years. The main diagnostic groups were cardio-vascular emergencies (41%), trauma (23%) and neurological emergencies (16%). In 61% of the cases, the patient was critically ill/injured corresponding to a NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) score between 4 and 7 (both included). In more than one third of the missions a critical care intervention was performed. Ultrasound examination and endo-tracheal intubation were the critical care interventions most frequently performed (21% and 20%, respectively). Conclusion The national Danish HEMS primarily attends severely ill or injured patients and often perform critical care interventions. In addition, the Danish HEMS provides rapid transport to highly specialised treatment for patients in the more rural parts of the country. Patients with cardio-vascular emergencies, trauma and neurological emergencies are among those patient groups most commonly seen. We conclude that the overall dispatch profile appears appropriate but emphasise that continuous development and refinement is essential.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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