Esmaeilzadeh Mohammad Hossein, Nami Akram, Bajoulvand Razyeh, Paykani Toktam
Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Social Development and Health Promotion Research Center, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Gonabad, Iran.
BMC Emerg Med. 2025 Jan 5;25(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12873-024-01151-2.
Air medical transport services play a significant role in emergency situations by providing timely transfers of critically ill patients to medical facilities. This study aimed to investigate the mission characteristics of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and the associated time intervals in a geographically remote region of eastern Iran. We also compared the prehospital times of HEMS and ground transportation to determine whether dispatching a helicopter is time-efficient.
This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the prehospital emergency medical center in Gonabad, a remote area in eastern Iran. Data were collected using standardized electronic forms developed by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) in Iran. We analyzed the mission profiles and prehospital time intervals for all Gonabad HEMS missions conducted between 2021 and 2024. The mean activation time was compared to the national benchmark of three minutes, and the prehospital time intervals of air ambulances were compared to those of ground ambulances.
From 2021 to 2024, there were 252 HEMS missions, transporting 265 patients. Of all 252 missions, 95 (37.7%) were primary missions, and 157 (62.3%) were secondary missions. The most frequent reasons for air ambulance dispatch were trauma, acute coronary syndrome, and strokes. The mean ± SD for HEMS activation time was 9.14 ± 3.63 min, significantly exceeding the national benchmark of three minutes. HEMS prehospital time was 49.73 ± 9.67 min. The comparison of prehospital time intervals indicated that air emergency services are more time-efficient than ground ambulances.
This study found that the mean activation time of air ambulances exceeded the national benchmark of three minutes. When comparing prehospital times for air ambulance and ground ambulance services, HEMS was faster than both ground scenarios. The current benchmark for helicopter activation time in Iran may need clarification and revision.
空中医疗运输服务在紧急情况下发挥着重要作用，它能够及时将重症患者转运至医疗机构。本研究旨在调查伊朗东部一个地理偏远地区的直升机紧急医疗服务（HEMS）的任务特征以及相关的时间间隔。我们还比较了HEMS和地面运输的院前时间，以确定派遣直升机是否具有时间效率。
这项回顾性横断面研究在伊朗东部偏远地区戈纳巴德的院前急救医疗中心进行。数据通过伊朗卫生和医学教育部（MOHME）制定的标准化电子表格收集。我们分析了2021年至2024年期间戈纳巴德所有HEMS任务的任务概况和院前时间间隔。将平均启动时间与三分钟的国家基准进行比较，并将空中救护车的院前时间间隔与地面救护车的进行比较。
2021年至2024年期间，共有252次HEMS任务，运送了265名患者。在所有252次任务中，95次（37.7%）是主要任务，157次（62.3%）是次要任务。空中救护车派遣的最常见原因是创伤、急性冠状动脉综合征和中风。HEMS启动时间的平均值±标准差为9.14±3.63分钟，显著超过三分钟的国家基准。HEMS院前时间为49.73±9.67分钟。院前时间间隔的比较表明，空中急救服务比地面救护车更具时间效率。
本研究发现，空中救护车的平均启动时间超过了三分钟的国家基准。在比较空中救护车和地面救护车服务的院前时间时，HEMS比两种地面情况都更快。伊朗目前的直升机启动时间基准可能需要明确和修订。
