Helicopter Transport Use for Trauma Patients Is Decreasing Significantly Nationwide but Remains Overutilized

• Published in: The American surgeon Vol. 84; no. 10; pp. 1630 - 1634
• Main Authors: Dhillon, Navpreet K., Linaval, Nikhil T., Patel, Kavita A., Colovos, Christos, Ko, Ara, Margulies, Daniel R., Ley, Eric J., Barmparas, Galinos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2018; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Air Ambulances - statistics & numerical data; Aircraft - statistics & numerical data; Aircraft accidents; Data banks; Emergency Medical Services - statistics & numerical data; Emergency services; Equipment and Supplies Utilization; Geriatrics; Helicopters; Humans; Length of Stay - statistics & numerical data; Middle Aged; Mortality; Older people; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Transportation; Transportation of Patients - statistics & numerical data; Trauma; Trauma centers; Trauma Centers - statistics & numerical data; Trends; Triage; United States; Unnecessary Procedures - statistics & numerical data; Wounds and Injuries - mortality; Wounds and Injuries - therapy; United States; Los Angeles California; United States > US
• ISSN: 0003-1348; 1555-9823; 1555-9823
• DOI: 10.1177/000313481808401019

Rapid transfer of trauma patients to a trauma center for definitive management is essential to increase survival. The utilization of helicopter transportation for this purpose remains heavily debated. The purpose of this study was to characterize the trends in helicopter transportations of trauma patients in the United States over the last decade. Subjects with a primary mode of either ground or helicopter transportation were selected from the National Trauma Data Bank datasets 2007 to 2015. Over this period, the proportion of patients transported by a helicopter decreased significantly in a linear fashion from 17 per cent in 2007 to 10.2 per cent in 2015 (P < 0.001). The overall mortality of this population was 7.6 per cent and remained unchanged over the study period (P = 0.545). Almost 3 of 10 subjects (29.4%) transported by a helicopter had an Injury Severity Score <9. The proportion of elderly (>65 years) patients requiring helicopter transportation increased by 69.1 per cent, whereas their associated mortality decreased by 21.5 per cent. The use of a helicopter for the transportation of trauma patients has significantly decreased over the last decade without any significant change in mortality, possibly indicating more effective utilization of available resources. Overtriage of patients with minor injuries remained relatively unchanged.