ArticleActa anaesthesiologica Scandinavica2013
Impact of a physician-staffed helicopter on a regional trauma system: a prospective, controlled, observational study.
Article in Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02175862 (Long-term Evaluation of Patients Treated by an Emergency Medical Helicopter), which is not on this map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Long-term Evaluation of Patients Treated by an Emergency Medical Helicopter
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Survival and cost-effectiveness of helicopter versus ground emergency medical services: a systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression and trial sequential analysis.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Benefits of targeted deployment of physician-led interprofessional pre-hospital teams on the care of critically Ill and injured patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of Trauma System Structure on Injury Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.World journal of surgery · 2018Pooled it
- Assessing consistency of the emergency medical services benefit score: an intra- and inter-rater reliability study in a belgian helicopter medical center.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Improving EMS access: Strategic helicopter infrastructure and 3D virtual training for enhanced ground-air ambulance coordination.iScience · 2026Article
- The impact of concurrency conflicts on optimal location of air ambulance bases in Norway.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Intentional transit practice through a nearby hospital for remote area emergencies provides earlier primary care than helicopter emergency medical services alone in rural emergencies: a single-center, observational study.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2025Article
- The characteristics and clinical outcomes of trauma patients transferred by a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service in Korea: a retrospective study.Journal of trauma and injury · 2024Article
- Mortality rates in Norwegian HEMS-a retrospective analysis from Central Norway.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Overcoming distance: an exploration of current practices of government and charity-funded critical care transport and retrieval organizations.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2023Review
- High-risk diagnosis combinations in patients undergoing interhospital transfer: a retrospective observational study.BMC emergency medicine · 2022Observational
- Article
- A scoping review of worldwide studies evaluating the effects of prehospital time on trauma outcomes.International journal of emergency medicine · 2020Article
- Association of helicopter transportation and improved mortality for patients with major trauma in the northern French Alps trauma system: an observational study based on the TRENAU registry.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2020Observational
- Comparative Study on the Outcome of Stroke Patients Transferred by Doctor Helicopters and Ground Ambulances in South Korea: A Retrospective Controlled Study.Emergency medicine international · 2020Article
- Helicopter and ground emergency medical services transportation to hospital after major trauma in England: a comparative cohort study.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2020Article
- Patient experience of spinal immobilisation after trauma.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2019Article
- The Danish helicopter emergency medical service database: high quality data with great potential.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2019Article
- Overview of doctor-staffed ambulance use in Japan: a nationwide survey and 1-week study.Acute medicine & surgery · 2018Article
- A socio-economic analysis of increased staffing in the Norwegian helicopter emergency medical service.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThis study aims to compare the trauma system before and after implementing a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service (PS-HEMS). Our hypothesis was that PS-HEMS would reduce time from injury to definitive care for severely injured patients.
methodsThis was a prospective, controlled, observational study, involving seven local hospitals and one level I trauma centre using a before and after design. All patients treated by a trauma team within a 5-month period (1 December 2009-30 April 2010) prior to and a 12-month period (1 May 2010-30 April 2011) after implementing a PS-HEMS were included. We compared time from dispatch of the first ground ambulance to arrival in the trauma centre for patients with Injury Severity Score (ISS) > 15. Secondary end points were the proportion of secondary transfers and 30-day mortality.
resultsWe included 1788 patients, of which 204 had an ISS > 15. The PS-HEMS transported 44 severely injured directly to the trauma centre resulting in a reduction of secondary transfers from 50% before to 34% after implementation (P = 0.04). Median delay for definitive care for severely injured patients was 218 min before and 90 min after implementation (P < 0.01). The 30-day mortality was reduced from 29% (16/56) before to 14% (21/147) after PS-HEMS (P = 0.02). Logistic regression showed PS-HEMS had an odds ratio (OR) for survival of 6.9 compared with ground transport.
conclusionsImplementation of a PS-HEMS was associated with significant reduction in time to the trauma centre for severely injured patients. We also observed significantly reduced proportions of secondary transfers and 30-day mortality.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.