Emergency Aeromedical Services in Ireland: A Single-Centre Study in 2014.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Trauma Surgery
• Pre-hospital Care

Background:

• Evaluating the efficacy of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) is crucial for optimizing patient care.
• Current criteria for HEMS activation may not accurately predict hospital admission rates, potentially leading to inefficient resource allocation.
• The need for validated criteria to improve the specificity of HEMS dispatch is recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a single-center HEMS service.
• To assess if internationally validated criteria, specifically the American College of Surgeons (ACS) trauma-related dispatch criteria, predict hospital admission rates more accurately than existing criteria.
• To compare the specificity of ACS criteria versus current criteria in HEMS patient selection.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients requiring Emergency Aeromedical Services (EAS) in 2014.
• Cases were evaluated using the American College of Surgeons (ACS) trauma-related dispatch criteria.
• Comparison of admission rates and false positive rates between ACS criteria and currently used criteria.

Main Results:

• The mean total criteria met were significantly higher in admitted patients (2.73) compared to discharged patients (1.45).
• The total number of criteria met demonstrated a significant predictive value for admission rates (p<0.05).
• Patients with a high Mechanism of Injury (MOI) showed increased admission rates (p<0.05).
• The ACS criteria resulted in lower false positive rates for HEMS transfers compared to the current criteria.

Conclusions:

• The American College of Surgeons (ACS) total criteria possess a higher specificity in predicting admission for HEMS patients compared to the currently used guidelines.
• Implementing ACS criteria could lead to more accurate patient selection for HEMS, potentially improving resource utilization and reducing unnecessary transports.
• The study highlights the value of standardized, validated criteria in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency aeromedical services.