Association Between On-Scene Time and Number of Physicians in Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in Japan: A...

This study aimed to determine the impact of having 2 physicians versus 1 physician in a helicopter emergency medical team on OST.

This retrospective observational study analyzed 828 patients who underwent helicopter emergency medical services in 2 years (2020-2021). We used chi-square and t tests to analyze the difference in OST between patients attended by 1 versus 2 physicians. We then used general linear model analysis to evaluate the impact of the number of physicians on OST.

Of the 828 patients, we observed 1 physician group (n = 356) and 2 physician groups (n = 472). Analysis revealed significant main effects of diagnosis type (F = 10.78, P < .001) and the number of physicians (F = 18.60, P < .001) on OST, whereas the interaction was not significant (F = 0.30, P = .911). In another analysis, the interaction between the transport facility and the number of physicians was significant (F = 7.00, P = .008), including their main effects.

Having 2 physicians on board the helicopter emergency medical services seems to reduce OST compared with having 1, particularly in trauma and neurology cases.