Observational studyScandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine2016
Outcomes after helicopter versus ground emergency medical services for major trauma--propensity score and instrumental variable analyses: a retrospective nationwide cohort study.
Observational study in Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 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
- Mapping the internationally reported evidence on physician-staffed helicopter transport in Japan: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Prehospital care: Lessons learned from 311 mortalities at level I trauma center.Chinese journal of traumatology = Zhonghua chuang shang za zhi · 2026Observational
- Proportion and clinical characteristics of patients who received prehospital airway or respiratory management by physicians aboard helicopters in Japan: a nationwide descriptive analysis.Journal of anesthesia · 2026Article
- Mortality following ground-level falls in trauma patients with dementia.Trauma surgery & acute care open · 2026Article
- Independence of the mortality of severely injured patients from types of transport and hospital level in a well-developed trauma network.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Patient and mission characteristics of helicopter emergency medical services in the Republic of Ireland: a retrospective analysis.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Management of Polytraumatized Patients: Challenges and Insights into Air Transfer.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Effect of a generalized early mobilization and rehabilitation protocol on outcomes in trauma patients admitted to the intensive care unit: a retrospective pre-post study.Critical care (London, England) · 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
- Mortality rates in physician staffed ground vs. air ambulance for severe trauma patients: retrospective analysis of the Japanese nationwide trauma registry.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Scoring Model to Predict ICU Stay and Mortality After Emergency Admissions in Atrial Fibrillation: A Retrospective Study of 30 366 Patients.Clinical cardiology · 2025Article
- Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Patients Requiring Tracheal Intubation by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services: A Retrospective, Single-Center, Observational Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Mortality rates in Norwegian HEMS-a retrospective analysis from Central Norway.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Article
- High-risk diagnosis combinations in patients undergoing interhospital transfer: a retrospective observational study.BMC emergency medicine · 2022Observational
- Characteristics of patients who received helicopter emergency medical services in Japan from 2012 to 2019: a retrospective analysis of data from Tochigi Prefecture.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2022Article
- Physician-led prehospital management is associated with reduced mortality in severe blunt trauma patients: a retrospective analysis of the Japanese nationwide trauma registry.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2021Article
- Association of Helicopter vs Ground Emergency Medical Transportation With 1-Year Mortality in Denmark.JAMA network open · 2021Article
- Impact of Sex Differences on Mortality in Patients With Sepsis After Trauma: A Nationwide Cohort Study.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBecause of a lack of randomized controlled trials and the methodological weakness of currently available observational studies, the benefits of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) over ground emergency medical services (GEMS) for major trauma patients remain uncertain. The aim of this retrospective nationwide cohort study was to compare the mortality of adults with serious traumatic injuries who were transported by HEMS and GEMS, and to analyze the effects of HEMS in various subpopulations.
methodsUsing the Japan Trauma Data Bank, we evaluated all adult patients who had an injury severity score ≥ 16 transported by HEMS or GEMS during the daytime between 2004 and 2014. We compared in-hospital mortality between patients transported by HEMS and GEMS using propensity score matching, inverse probability of treatment weighting and instrumental variable analyses to adjust for measured and unmeasured confounding factors.
resultsEligible patients (n = 21,286) from 192 hospitals included 4128 transported by HEMS and 17,158 transported by GEMS. In the propensity score-matched model, there was a significant difference in the in-hospital mortality between HEMS and GEMS groups (22.2 vs. 24.5%, risk difference -2.3% [95% confidence interval, -4.2 to -0.5]; number needed to treat, 43 [95% confidence interval, 24 to 220]). The inverse probability of treatment weighting (20.8% vs. 23.9%; risk difference, -3.9% [95% confidence interval, -5.7 to -2.1]; number needed to treat, 26 [95% confidence interval, 17 to 48]) and instrumental variable analyses showed similar results (risk difference, -6.5% [95% confidence interval, -9.2 to -3.8]; number needed to treat, 15 [95% confidence interval, 11 to 27]). HEMS transport was significantly associated with lower in-hospital mortality after falls, compression injuries, severe chest injuries, extremity (including pelvic) injuries, and traumatic arrest on arrival to the emergency department.
conclusionsHEMS was associated with a significantly lower mortality than GEMS in adult patients with major traumatic injuries after adjusting for measured and unmeasured confounders.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.