The impact of helicopter emergency medical service on acute ischemic stroke patients: A systematic review

Shachar Tal, Saban Mor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) is commonly elected transport for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) known as a time-critical illness. Aim: To conduct a systematic review in order to explore the HEMS impact on healthcare status, process and outcome measures for AIS patients. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. The gray literature and reference lists of included articles were also searched. Thirty studies met inclusion criteria. Results: Using Donabedian's framework, two studies focused on the impact on healthcare structure, twenty-three explored the impact on process measures, and five focused on clinical outcomes. HEMS structure implications could not be assessed due to insufficient studies. HEMS showed no significant outcome benefit compared to ground emergency medical services (EMS) and the impact on process measures was ambiguous. Conclusions: HEMS necessity varied considerably between studies. More robust studies are needed for detection of the most suitable use of HEMS in AIS.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)178-187
Number of pages10
JournalAmerican Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume42
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Acute ischemic stroke
  • Air transfer
  • Cerebrovascular accident
  • Ground emergency medical service
  • Helicopter emergency medical service

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