title: Advanced life support for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest--the changing role of a hospital-based flying squad.
abstract: The success of hospital-based flying squads in the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has been well documented, but since the introduction of ambulance paramedics the need for such teams to deal with cardiac arrests has been questioned. We performed a 3-year retrospective study of non-traumatic arrests attended by Medic 1, the flying squad based at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. There were 99 males and 46 females, mean age 57.6 years (range 17-86 years). Seventy-eight (53.9%) patients were pronounced dead at scene, 47 patients (32.4%) were admitted to hospital and 20 (13.7%) survived to hospital discharge. All but two of the survivors had return of spontaneous circulation prior to the arrival of Medic 1. Accident flying squads operating as a secondary response unit to victims of non-traumatic cardiac arrest are unlikely to have a significant effect upon overall survival.
authors.affiliation: Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gleeson
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Robertson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017732:Air Ambulances; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care / Q000639:trends*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom