Visualized analysis of research on helicopter emergency medical service

Numerous studies have confirmed that helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) play a positive role in prehospital care. However, few studies have used rigorous bibliometric tools to analyze the knowledge structure and distribution of HEMS research.

The purpose of this study was to use bibliometric methods to conduct a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the HEMS-related literature and to determine the research status and hotspots of HEMS research.

CiteSpace was used for bibliometric analysis of the HEMS-related literature retrieved from the Web of Science database from 1989 to 2021.

A total of 1378 HEMS-related literature were included. Collaboration among countries, authors, and institutions needs to be strengthened. The topics in HEMS research have mainly focused on the effectiveness of helicopter emergency medical services for trauma patients and the comparison of transport effectiveness between helicopters and ground emergency medical services on trauma patient transport. Research over the past 10 years has mainly focused on the application of HEMS in patients with trauma, myocardial infarction, cerebral apoplexy, application of tracheal intubation technology in HEMS, and advanced airway management. In recent years, HEMS research trends have mainly included out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, and transport.

CiteSpace was used to visualize and analyze the HEMS-related literature, which visually reflected the research status and hot spots, providing references for the topic selection and development direction of HEMS research.