Hospital-based rotorcraft aeromedical emergency care services and trauma mortality: a multicenter study.
A group of 1,273 blunt trauma patients who were treated and transported from the site of injury by seven different hospital-based rotorcraft aeromedical emergency care services were studied using a methodology based on injury severity designed to predict the mortality of such patients. The methodology predicted that 241 patients should have died; 191 patients did die. This 21% reduction in expected mortality was highly significant (P less than .001). Each of the seven rotorcraft services had a reduction in predicted mortality. The reduction was statistically significant (P less than .05) in five of the seven aeromedical services, or 86% of the total patient cohort. Hospital-based rotorcraft aeromedical emergency care services may reduce the expected mortality of blunt trauma patients treated at the site of injury.
D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D004630:Emergencies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014481:United States; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy