• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.411-422
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• 2018

Background: Whether there is a difference in outcomes for trauma patients transferring to the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) according to their previous team composition is controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of trauma team-staffed-HEMS (TTS-HEMS) when transferring to a trauma center. Methods: A retrospective comparison was conducted on patients transported to a trauma center over a 6-year period by the TTS-HEMS and paramedic-staffed-HEMS (119-HEMS). Inclusion criteria were blunt trauma with age ${\geq}15years$. Patient outcomes were compared with the Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) (30-day mortality) and the Cox proportional hazard ratio of mortality (in hospital). Results: There were 321 patients of TTS-HEMS and 92 patients of 119-HEMS. The TTS-HEMS group had a higher Injury Severity Score and longer transport time but a significantly shorter time to emergency surgery. The prehospital data showed that the trauma team performed more aggressive interventions during transport. An additional 7.6 lives were saved per 100 TTS-HEMS deployments. However, the TRISS results in the 119-HEMS group were not significant. In addition, after adjusting for confounders, the hazard ratio of mortality in the 119-HEMS group was 2.83 times higher than that in the TTS-HEMS group. Conclusion: HEMS was likely to improve the survival rate of injured patients when physicians were involved in TTS-HEMS. Survival benefits in the TTS-HEMS group appeared to be related to the fact that the trauma team performed both more aggressive prehospital resuscitation and clinical decision making during transportation.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.122-129
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• 2020

Korea's HEMS are mainly operated during the week, but they are pushing for 24-hour operations. This study has made an overall comparison and review of helicopter safety management that should be accompanied to this end. For research purposes, helicopter regulations and helicopter accident statistics were analyzed, with a high accident rate associated with pilot error and night flight. It was proposed that future preparations would require reinforcement of laws and regulations, reinforcement of pilots' night training, and introduction of training and preflight risk assessments. This study will provide a direction for future helicopter safety. This study will provide for future direction of helicopter safety research.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.230-240
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• 2012

Purpose: We aimed to compare the transport time, the proportion of direct hospital visit and the emergency procedures between the current mountain rescue helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) and physician-staffed mountain-rescue HEMS. Methods: During weekends from October 2, to November 21, 2010, 9 emergency physicians participated as HEMS staff in the mountain-rescue HEMS program of the Seoul fire department. Patient demographic data, transport time, proportion of direct hospital visits, and emergency procedures were recorded. We also collected data on HEMS mountain-rescued patients from June 1, to September 1, 2010, and we compared them to those for the study patients. After an eight-week trial of the HEMS, we performed a delphi survey to determine the attitude of the physician staff, as well as the feasibility of using a physician staff. Results: Twenty-four(24) patients were rescued from mountains by physician-staffed HEMS during the study period, and 35 patients were rescued during the pre-study period. Patient demographic findings were not statistically different between the two groups, but the transport time and the emergency procedures were. During the study period, the time from call to take-off was $6.1{\pm}4.1min$ (vs. $12.1{\pm}8.9min$ during the pre-study period, p-value=0.001), and the time from call to arrival at the scene was $15.0{\pm}4.8min$ (vs. $22.3{\pm}8.1min$ during the pre-study period, p-value=0.0001). The proportions of direct hospital visit were not different between the two groups, but more aggressive emergency procedures were implemented in the study group. The delphi survey showed positive agreement on indications for HEMS, rapidity of transport and overall satisfaction. Conclusion: A pilot trial of physician-staffed HEMS for mountain rescue showed rapid response and more aggressive performance of emergency procedures with high satisfaction among the attending physicians.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.159-163
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• 2006

Purpose: The number of patients transported by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) has increased recently. In our review of the Korean HEMS, there was no established helicopter utilization criteria or triage tool on the scene, so many patients with minor injuries were transported to tertiary care centers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the percentage of patients with minor injuries and to propose a more appropriate triage tool for predicting the need for transport to a tertiary care center. Methods: The subjects of this study were 59 trauma patients transported to Asan Medical Center (AMC) from the scene by Seoul HEMS from January 2004 to December 2005. The Triage score (TS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), and modified Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (mCTAS) were calculated as severity scales. Patients with minor injuries were defined as those with TS=9, ISS${\leq}15$, and mCTAS${\geq}3$. We evaluated the association of TS, ISS, and mCTAS with the appropriateness of transport. Results: Many of the patients transported to tertiary medical centers were classified as having a minor injury: TS=9 group 35 cases (72.9%), ISS${\leq}15$ group 30 cases (62.5%) and mCTAS${\geq}3$ group 27 cases (56.2%). However, 56.2% (27/59) of the patients were appropriately transported according to need for admission or an operation. The more severely injured patients classified by TS, ISS, and mCTAS were more appropriately transported to a tertiary center (p<0.05). Conclusion: Many patients with minor injuries were transported to a tertiary center from the scene directly. The TS can be easily calculated by an emergency medical technician at the scene. Thus, we propose the TS as a useful triage tool for determining the necessity of transport to a tertiary center by helicopter.