Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) Response in Rural Areas in Poland: Retrospective Study

Patryk Rzońca, Stanisław Paweł Świeżewski, Rakesh Jalali, Joanna Gotlib and Robert Gałązkowski
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Patryk Rzońca: Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 4-6 Staszica St., 20-081 Lublin, Poland
Stanisław Paweł Świeżewski: Department of Emergency Medical Services, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw, 81 Żwirki i Wigury St., 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
Rakesh Jalali: Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Collegium Medicum University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 30 Aleja Warszawska St., 10-082 Olsztyn, Poland
Joanna Gotlib: Division of Teaching and Outcomes of Education, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw, 81 Żwirki i Wigury St., 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
Robert Gałązkowski: Department of Emergency Medical Services, Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw, 81 Żwirki i Wigury St., 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: The aim of the study was to identify the characteristics of missions performed by HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) crews and the analysis of health problems, which are the most common cause of intervention in rural areas in Poland. The study was conducted using a retrospective analysis based on the medical records of patients provided by the HEMS crew, who were present for the emergencies in rural areas in the period from January 2011 to December 2018. The final analysis included 37,085 cases of intervention by HEMS crews, which accounted for 54.91% of all the missions carried out in the study period. The majority (67.4%) of patients rescued were male, and just under a quarter of those rescued were aged between 50–64 years. Injuries (51.04%) and cardiovascular diseases (36.49%) were the main diagnoses found in the study group. Whereas injuries were significantly higher in the male group and patients below 64 years of age, cardiovascular diseases were higher in women and elderly patients ( p < 0.001). Moreover, in the group of women myocardial infarction was significantly more frequent (30.95%) than men, while in the group of men head injuries (27.10%), multiple and multi-organ injuries (25.93%), sudden cardiac arrest (14.52%), stroke (12.19%), and epilepsy (4.95%) was significantly higher. Factors that are associated with the most common health problems of rural patients are: gender and age, as well as the seasons of the year and the values of the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) used to assess the clinical status of patients.

Keywords: Helicopter Emergency Medical Service; prehospital care; rural region; health of rural populations; sudden cardiac arrest; acute coronary syndromes; cardiovascular diseases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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