People with life-threatening injuries may be more likely to survive when advanced medical care reaches them by helicopter. Survival data from a regional air ambulance service in South East England shows that outcomes were better than expected for major trauma patients. The analysis suggests that about five additional people survived for every 100 severely injured patients treated. The findings were published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.
Researchers say it has been difficult to draw firm conclusions from international studies on Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) and trauma survival. Differences in study methods, small patient numbers, and the lack of shared outcome definitions have limited comparisons. Another unresolved question has been identifying which types of patients benefit the most from…