The association between air ambulance distribution and trauma mortality

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Trauma Surgery
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) utilization has significantly increased for critically injured patients.
• The optimal geographic distribution of HEMS airbases to improve patient outcomes remains undetermined.
• HEMS are resource-intensive, necessitating efficient airbase placement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between helicopter ambulance airbase distance and injury-related mortality.
• To determine if proximity to an airbase impacts survival for trauma patients.
• To analyze the relationship between airbase location and patient residence or referring facility.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 244,293 adult trauma patients in Pennsylvania (1997-2007).
• Utilized the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study data set.
• Multivariate analysis adjusted for case mix to assess airbase proximity and mortality risk.

Main Results:

• For patients over 20 miles from a trauma center, increased airbase distance correlated with higher mortality risk (1% increase per mile).
• No additional survival benefit was found for patients living within 25 miles of multiple airbases.
• 18.1% of patients not near a trauma center were also not near an airbase.

Conclusions:

• Proximity to a single airbase is associated with reduced mortality for individuals residing far from trauma centers.
• Airbase location near trauma centers or other airbases does not provide additional survival benefits.
• Optimizing airbase placement is crucial for improving outcomes in remote trauma populations.