• Stanisław Paweł Świeżewski, Arkadiusz Wejnarski, Piotr Konrad Leszczyński, Anna Wojak, Adam Fronczak, Tomasz Darocha, Robert Gałązkowski, Grzegorz Opolski, and Patryk Rzońca.
• Department of Emergency Medical Services,Faculty of Health Science, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Polish Medical Air Rescue, Warsaw, Poland. stanislaw.swiezewski@wum.edu.pl
• Kardiol Pol. 2020 Apr 24; 78 (4): 284-291.

BackgroundIn patients with acute phase of ST‑segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), quick transportation to a specialist therapeutic center is of utmost importance to increase the chances of surviving.AimsThe objective of this study was to characterize the missions of the Polish Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) to patients with STEMI in urban and rural areas and to assess the utilization of air ambulance support as part of an early stage of the therapeutic process.MethodsThis retrospective analysis included 6099 patients with STEMI treated by the Polish HEMS crews from January 2011 to December 2018.ResultsThe study group included mainly men (68.9%) and persons aged 60 to 79 years (53.9%). The mean (SD) age of the entire group was 64.8 (11.9) years. The level of consciousness measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale score ranged from 13 to 15 (84.8% of patients), the mean (SD) Revised Trauma Score was 11.4 (1.9) points, and the mean (SD) number of points on the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics scale was 4 (1). In rural areas, the Polish HEMS crews were more frequently dispatched to medical emergencies (99.3% vs 59.6%). Sudden cardiac arrest occurred more often in those areas (6% vs 3.8%), which resulted in the death of the patient (2.4% vs 0.4%; P <0.05 for both).ConclusionsThere were differences in utilization of the Polish HEMS in patients with STEMI in urban and rural areas. The results demonstrated a positive impact of the utilization of HEMS in the early stages of the therapeutic process of these patients.

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