Air medical journal
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Air medical journal · Nov 2020
Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in Trauma Does Not Influence Mortality in South Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa carries a large trauma burden. Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) have been suggested to reduce prehospital time and mortality. It is not clear whether HEMS infers a mortality benefit over ground transport in South Africa. This study aimed to determine whether HEMS improved 30-day mortality over ground emergency medical services (GEMS). ⋯ In a matched cohort of major trauma patients, HEMS does not seem to improve mortality over GEMS. These results might reflect the South African HEMS dispatch model.
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Air medical journal · Nov 2020
ReviewPrehospital Management of Peripartum Neonatal Complications by Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in the South West of the Netherlands: An Observational Study.
Emergency medical service (EMS) is responsible for prehospital care encompassing all ages, irrespective of injury cause or medical condition, which includes peripartum emergencies. When patients require care more advanced than the level provided by the national EMS protocol, an EMS physician-staffed Dutch helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) may be dispatched. In the Netherlands in 2016, there were 21.434 planned home births guided by midwives alone without further obstetric assistance, accounting for 12.7% of all births that year. However, there are no clear data available thus far regarding neonates requiring emergency care with or without HEMS assistance. This article reviews neonates during our study period who received medical care after birth by HEMS. ⋯ During the study period, 52 neonates required medical assistance by HEMS. The 5 infants who died were all preterm. In this cohort, adequate basic life support was implemented immediately after birth either by the attending midwife, EMS, or HEMS on arrival. This suggests that prehospital first responders know the basic skills of neonatal life support.