Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32299448›Full record

ReviewScandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine2020

What clinical crew competencies and qualifications are required for helicopter emergency medical services? A review of the literature.

Siobhán Masterson, Conor Deasy, Mark Doyle, David Hennelly, Shane Knox, Jan Sorensen

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Siobhán MastersonMedical Directorate, National Ambulance Service, Dooradoyle House, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick, V94 HW6E, Ireland. siobhan.masterson@hse.ie.
Conor DeasyMedical Directorate, National Ambulance Service, Dooradoyle House, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick, V94 HW6E, Ireland.
Mark DoyleRetired Emergency Medicine Consultant, Waterford, Ireland.
David HennellyMedical Directorate, National Ambulance Service, Dooradoyle House, Dooradoyle Road, Limerick, V94 HW6E, Ireland.
Shane KnoxNational Ambulance Service College, Dublin, Ireland.
Jan SorensenHealthcare Outcomes Research Centre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPatients served by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) tend to be acutely injured or unwell and in need of stabilisation followed by rapid and safe transport. It is therefore hypothesised that a particular clinical crew composition is required to provide appropriate HEMS patient care. A literature review was performed to test this hypothesis.

methodsMEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were systematically searched from 1 January 2009 to 30 August 2019 to identify peer-reviewed articles of relevance. All HEMS studies that mentioned 'staffing', 'configuration', 'competencies' or 'qualifications' in the title or abstract were selected for full-text review.

resultsFour hundred one studies were identified. Thirty-eight studies, including one systematic review and one randomised controlled trial, were included. All remaining studies were of an observational design. The vast majority of studies described clinical crews that were primarily doctor-staffed. Descriptions of non-doctor staff competencies were limited, with the exception of one paramedic-staffed model.

conclusionsHEMS clinical crews tended to have a wider range of competencies and experience than ground-based crews, and most studies suggested a patient outcome benefit to HEMS provision. The conclusions that can be drawn are limited due to study quality and the possibility that the literature reviewed was weighted towards particular crewing models (i.e. primarily doctor-staffed) and countries. There is a need for trial-based studies that directly compare patient outcomes between different HEMS crews with different competencies and qualifications.

Indexed as

Air AmbulancesClinical CompetenceEmergency Medical ServicesEmergency Medical TechniciansHumansClinical assessmentCompetenceHelicopter retrievalPrehospital care

Identifiers

PMID32299448
PMCPMC7164232

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.