Prehospital emergency thoracotomy performed by helicopter emergency medical service team: A case report

Emergency thoracotomy can be a life-saving procedure in critically injured patients who present with chest injuries. Currently, the indications for an on-the-scene thoracotomy are penetrating trauma of the chest or upper abdomen with cardiac arrest that has occurred in the presence of an emergency team or within 10 minutes prior to their arrival. The indications for an emergency thoracotomy in blunt chest trauma are less clearly defined. In the present case, a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) team performed an emergency thoracotomy at the scene. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first description of such a procedure in Poland. A 41-year-old male was crushed in a tractor accident. Though all available measures were taken, a sudden cardiac arrest occurred. The HEMS team performed an emergency thoracotomy at the scene as an integral part of prehospital cardiopulmonary arrest management. The patient survived, and was later discharged from the hospital in good physical condition. No neurological deficit was identified (cerebral performance category 1). The patient returned to his previous activities with no complications or deficits. The presence of a fully trained crew allows for the performance of a potentially critical on-the-scene emergency thoracotomy. In a well-selected group of patients with blunt thoracic injury, a prehospital emergency thoracotomy may be a significant and life-saving procedure.