Houston injury lawyers bring your attention to a study just published in the highly rated Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by Dr. Samuel Galvagno, Jr. and his team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore supports the findings of a study from last year that also indicated that trauma patients fare better when they receive transport to trauma centers by helicopter rather than by ground ambulance. Last year’s study that reached a similar conclusion was conducted by Dr. Mark Gestring, director of the Kessler Trauma Center, at New York’s University of Rochester Medical Center.
The lead authors of both studies are quick to point out that their data shouldn’t lead to any hasty changes in trauma patient transportation policies. Neither research study could clearly pinpoint the factors behind the apparent difference in patient survival rates tied to the different types of transportation. They say that factors like differences in available tools or training for medics on helicopters and ambulances might play a part in the different survival rates.
Our Houston injury lawyers understand that differences in the length of time it takes to get patients to trauma centers by ground or by air might also be a significant factor. And regional differences might also factor into the study results. One author stated that what might work best for Rochester or Baltimore might not work as well in different parts of the nation.
The recent study out of Maryland relied upon a national database of severely injured patients that received treatment at 900 specialized trauma centers throughout the United
States from 2007 to 2009. As you might suspect, car accidents provided the most frequent cause of traumatic injury among the patients receiving transport. The data included 62,000 injured teens and adults receiving transport to trauma centers by helicopter, and 162,000 that received transport by ambulance on the ground.
The initial view of the data shows that 11% of the ambulance patients died from their injuries compared to 13% of the helicopter patients. But after accounting for other variables affecting patient outcomes, such as patients’ vital signs at the time of transport, type and severity of injuries, and age, researchers determined that helicopter patients experienced a 1% to 2% increase in survival rates.
Our Houston injury lawyers caution that two major holes in the data prevent strong conclusions regarding increased survival rates purely attributable to the type of transport. The data did not say how far away patients were from the trauma centers when they received their injuries. The distance and length of time away from full care facilities is a critically important factor in survivability.
The researchers also did not have data on what care patients received from paramedics in helicopters and ambulances during transit. And adequate initial care could make all the difference in stabilizing a patient and increasing chances of surviving injuries.
Another key consideration is the vast difference in cost between helicopter transport and ambulance transport. In tight economic conditions, one must consider whether a possible (though not yet clearly proven) 1% to 2% increase in trauma injury survivability rates is worth a several hundred percent increase in patient transportation costs. And who will pay for that vast increase?
For more information on trauma injuries, read our Houston injury lawyers’ article on the trauma scale used to measure injury severity. Learn your options in the event of severe injury from a car accident.