Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town; Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2022 Dec;33(4):437-445. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2022.08.001. Epub 2022 Oct 11.
Helicopter search and rescue (SAR) in Africa is conducted primarily by military organizations. Since 2002, the Western Cape of South Africa has had a dedicated contracted civilian helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) conducting air ambulance, terrestrial, and aquatic rescue. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the operations of an African helicopter rescue service.
A 5-y retrospective review of the terrestrial and aquatic helicopter rescue activity of a civilian-operated HEMS in the Western Cape, South Africa, from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2016, was conducted. Data were extracted from the organization's operational database, aviation documents, rescue reports, and patient care records. Patient demographics and activity at the time of rescue, temporal and geographical distribution, crewing compositions, patient injury, triage, clinical interventions, and rescue techniques were analyzed.
A total of 581 SAR missions were conducted, of which 451 were terrestrial and 130 were aquatic rescues. The highest volume of rescues was conducted within the urban Cape Peninsula. Hoisting using a rescue harness was the most common rescue technique used. A total of 644 patients were rescued, with no or minor injuries representing 79% of the sample. Trauma (33%, 196/644) was the most common medical reason for rescue, with lower limb trauma predominant (15%, 90/644). The most common clinical interventions performed were intravenous access (n=108, 24%), spinal immobilization (n=92, 21%), splinting (n=76, 17%), and analgesia administration (n=58, 13%).
The rescue techniques utilized are similar to those described in high-income settings. Uninjured patients comprised the majority of the patients rescued.
在非洲，直升机搜索和救援（SAR）主要由军事组织进行。自 2002 年以来，南非西开普省一直有一家专门的承包民用直升机紧急医疗服务（HEMS）提供空中救护、陆地和水上救援。据我们所知，这是对非洲直升机救援服务运作情况的首次描述。
对南非西开普省一家民用运营的 HEMS 2012 年 1 月 1 日至 2016 年 12 月 31 日期间进行的陆地和水上直升机救援活动进行了 5 年的回顾性研究。数据从组织的运营数据库、航空文件、救援报告和患者护理记录中提取。分析了患者人口统计学和救援时的活动、时间和地理分布、机组人员组成、患者损伤、分诊、临床干预和救援技术。
共进行了 581 次 SAR 任务，其中 451 次为陆地救援，130 次为水上救援。救援量最大的是开普半岛市区。使用救援吊带提升是最常用的救援技术。共救援了 644 名患者，其中无或轻微受伤的患者占样本的 79%。创伤（33%，196/644）是最常见的救援原因，下肢创伤居多（15%，90/644）。最常见的临床干预措施包括静脉通路建立（n=108，24%）、脊柱固定（n=92，21%）、夹板固定（n=76，17%）和止痛药物使用（n=58，13%）。
所使用的救援技术与高收入国家描述的技术相似。救援的患者中多数无受伤。
