Table 1.
Patient characteristics by treatment group
| Road paramedic (n = 505) | HIRT HEMS (n = 336) | GSA HEMS (n = 48) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patient age (years) | 46.3 (20.5) | 45.7 (21.4) | 37.3 (18.2) | 0.02,§ ¥ |
| Gender (male) | 360 (71%) | 252 (75%) | 34 (71%) | 0.5 |
| Mechanism of injury | ||||
| - Transport | 318 (63%) | 219 (65% | 44 (92%) | 0.003,§ ¥ |
| - Fall | 137 (27%) | 86 (26%) | 3 (6%) | |
| - Other | 50 (10%) | 31 (9%) | 1 (2%) | |
| ISS | 21.3 (13.3) | 23.2 (15.1) | 21.7 (11.4) | 0.13 |
| NISS | 27.2 (16.9) | 30.2 (18.1) | 27.1 (15.1) | 0.04,* |
| First GCS | 13 (8–15) | 10 (4–14) | 13 (6–15) | <0.001,*¥ |
| First SBP (mmHg) | 113.5 (37.8) | 114.3 (41.9) | 103.3 (43.1) | 0.20 |
Statistics reported as N (%), mean (SD) or median (IQR) as appropriate. ISS, Injury Severity Scale. NISS, New Injury Severity Scale. GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale. SBP, Systolic blood pressure.
*indicates difference between Road Paramedics and HIRT HEMS at <0.05 level.
§indicates difference between Road paramedics and GSA HEMS at <0.05 level.
¥indicates difference between HIRT HEMS and GSA HEMS at <0.05 level.