ArticleScandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine2023
Trauma patient transport to hospital using helicopter emergency medical services or road ambulance in Sweden: a comparison of survival and prehospital time intervals.
Article in Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physician-staffed prehospital units for severely injured patients in the Stockholm trauma system - is there a survival benefit?European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2026Article
- Epidemiology and outcomes of trauma patients transported by helicopter emergency medical services: a descriptive-analytical study.International journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Helicopter emergency medical services for interfacility transfers: an Italian expert consensus.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- The Importance of the "Damage Control" Strategy in Multiple Organ Injuries, Pathophysiology and Principles of Hemorrhage Control.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Lead times in the early management of traumatic brain injury: relation to geographic conditions and clinical outcomes in a nationwide Swedish registry study.Acta neurochirurgica · 2026Observational
- Nationwide characteristics of infectious disease patients transported by helicopter ambulance in Türkiye.Turkish journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Management of Polytraumatized Patients: Challenges and Insights into Air Transfer.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Factors associated with a positive shock index in the prehospital setting after major trauma.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Article
- The effect of a new in-hospital trauma care model on the outcomes of severely injured trauma patients in the emergency department: a retrospective observational study in China.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Observational
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Use of Helicopter Transport After Severe Trauma in the US.JAMA surgery · 2025Article
- BOOTStrap-SCI: Beyond One option of treatment for spinal trauma and spinal cord injury: Consensus-based stratified protocols for pre-hospital care and emergency room (part I).Brain & spine · 2025Article
- Exploring Saudi paramedics' experiences in managing adult trauma cases: a qualitative study.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Prevalence and severity of pediatric cases in Stockholm's physician-staffed prehospital units: a retrospective cohort study.BMC emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Correction: Trauma patient transport to hospital using helicopter emergency medical services or road ambulance in Sweden: a comparison of survival and prehospital time intervals.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2024Article
- The Ideal Trauma Transport Modality: Helicopter or Ground Ambulance? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of emergencies, trauma, and shockArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe benefits of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) transport of adults following major trauma have been examined with mixed results, with some studies reporting a survival benefit compared to regular emergency medical services (EMS). The benefit of HEMS in the context of the Swedish trauma system remains unclear.
aimTo investigate differences in survival and prehospital time intervals for trauma patients in Sweden transported by HEMS compared to road ambulance EMS.
methodsA total of 74,032 trauma patients treated during 2012-2022 were identified through the Swedish Trauma Registry (SweTrau). The primary outcome was 30-day mortality and Glasgow Outcome Score at discharge from hospital (to home or rehab); secondary outcomes were the proportion of severely injured patients who triggered a trauma team activation (TTA) on arrival to hospital and the proportion of severely injured patients with GCS ≤ 8 who were subject to prehospital endotracheal intubation.
results4529 out of 74,032 patients were transported by HEMS during the study period. HEMS patients had significantly lower mortality compared to patients transported by EMS at 1.9% vs 4.3% (ISS 9-15), 5.4% vs 9.4% (ISS 16-24) and 31% vs 42% (ISS ≥ 25) (p < 0.001). Transport by HEMS was also associated with worse neurological outcome at discharge from hospital, as well as a higher rate of in-hospital TTA for severely injured patients and higher rate of prehospital intubation for severely injured patients with GCS ≤ 8. Prehospital time intervals were significantly longer for HEMS patients compared to EMS across all injury severity groups.
conclusionTrauma patients transported to hospital by HEMS had significantly lower mortality compared to those transported by EMS, despite longer prehospital time intervals and greater injury severity. However, this survival benefit may have been at the expense of a higher degree of adverse neurological outcome. Increasing the availability of HEMS to include all regions should be considered as it may be the preferrable option for transport of severely injured trauma patients in Sweden.
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