ArticleAnnals of surgery2015
Prehospital helicopter transport and survival of patients with traumatic brain injury.
Article in Annals of surgery, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Helicopter EMS for scene response to head-injured patients: systematic review & meta-analysis.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Pooled 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
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Use of Helicopter Transport After Severe Trauma in the US.JAMA surgery · 2025Article
- Neuroprotective and neuroregenerative drugs after severe traumatic brain injury : A narrative review from a clinical perspective.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2024Review
- Nationwide improvements in geriatric mortality due to traumatic brain injury in Japan.BMC emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Controversies and evidence gaps in the early management of severe traumatic brain injury: back to the ABCs.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2022Review
- Association of Pre-Hospital Helicopter Transport with Reduced Mortality in Traumatic Brain Injury in Japan: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of neurotrauma · 2022Article
- The utility of physician-staffed helicopters for managing individuals who experience severe isolated head trauma.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2021Article
- Multiple trauma management in mountain environments - a scoping review : Evidence based guidelines of the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MedCom). Intended for physicians and other advanced life support personnel.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2020Article
- Treatment Experiences of Traumatic Brain Injury Patients using Doctor-Helicopter Emergency Medical Service: Early Data in a Regional Trauma Center.Korean journal of neurotrauma · 2020Article
- Air ambulance outcome measures using Institutes of Medicine and Donabedian quality frameworks: protocol for a systematic scoping review.Systematic reviews · 2020Article
- Article
- Addressing Key Clinical Care and Clinical Research Needs in Severe Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Perspectives From a Focused International Conference.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2020Review
- The Dubrava Model-A Novel Approach in Treating Acutely Neurotraumatized Patients in Rural Areas: A Proposal for Management.Journal of neurosciences in rural practice · 2019Article
- Prehospital and Emergency Care in Adult Patients with Acute Traumatic Brain Injury.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Review
- Surgical outcomes for patients diagnosed with dementia: A coarsened exact matching study.Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia · 2018Article
- Management of Multi-Casualty Incidents in Mountain Rescue: Evidence-Based Guidelines of the International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MEDCOM).High altitude medicine & biology · 2018Article
- External validation of the Air Medical Prehospital Triage score for identifying trauma patients likely to benefit from scene helicopter transport.The journal of trauma and acute care surgery · 2017Article
- Circadian variability of the initial Glasgow Coma Scale score in traumatic brain injury patients.Neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythms · 2017Article
- Outcomes after helicopter versus ground emergency medical services for major trauma--propensity score and instrumental variable analyses: a retrospective nationwide cohort study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2016Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the association of helicopter transport with survival of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), in comparison with ground emergency medical services (EMS).
backgroundHelicopter utilization and its effect on the outcomes of TBI remain controversial.
methodsWe performed a retrospective cohort study involving patients with TBI who were registered in the National Trauma Data Bank between 2009 and 2011. Regression techniques with propensity score matching were used to investigate the association of helicopter transport with survival of patients with TBI, in comparison with ground EMS.
resultsDuring the study period, there were 209,529 patients with TBI who were registered in the National Trauma Data Bank and met the inclusion criteria. Of these patients, 35,334 were transported via helicopters and 174,195 via ground EMS. For patients transported to level I trauma centers, 2797 deaths (12%) were recorded after helicopter transport and 8161 (7.8%) after ground EMS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated an association of helicopter transport with increased survival [OR (odds ratio), 1.95; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.81-2.10; absolute risk reduction (ARR), 6.37%]. This persisted after propensity score matching (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.74-2.03; ARR, 5.93%). For patients transported to level II trauma centers, 1282 deaths (10.6%) were recorded after helicopter transport and 5097 (7.3%) after ground EMS. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated an association of helicopter transport with increased survival (OR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.64-2.00; ARR 5.17%). This again persisted after propensity score matching (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.55-1.94; ARR, 4.69).
conclusionsHelicopter transport of patients with TBI to level I and II trauma centers was associated with improved survival, in comparison with ground EMS.
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