Objective
Patients suffering from traumatic cardiopulmonary arrest (TCPA) typically demonstrate
dismal survival rates. Some helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) systems transport
TCPA patients via ground with a referring agency when cardiopulmonary pulmonary resuscitation
is in progress. With expanding research on the inherent risk of ground emergency medical
services (GEMS) transport with the use of lights and sirens to both crew and the general
public, the benefits may not outweigh the risks of transporting these patients by
GEMS. The aim of this study was to determine the number of TCPA patients transported
by GEMS with HEMS crews on board who survived to hospital discharge.
Methods
A retrospective chart review was performed of approximately 10 years of data from
a regional Midwest HEMS service. Survival to hospital discharge was the primary outcome.
Results
Flight crews transported 54 patients via ambulance with GEMS crews; 31 patients met
all inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 31 patients transported, 0 survived to
hospital discharge.
Conclusion
Based on our 0% survival rate and the inherent risk of injury and death to emergency
medical services crews and the general public, the risk of transporting adult TCPA
patients by GEMS using lights and sirens outweighs the benefit.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 19, 2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
