Table 2. Characteristics of 67 047 Injured Patients Evaluated by Emergency Medical Services in Rural vs Urban Counties.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rural | Urban | ||
| All patients evaluated by EMS | 1971 | 65 076 | |
| Death in the field | 15 (0.8) | 143 (0.2) | <.001 |
| Not transported | 507 (25.7) | 12 312 (18.9) | |
| Transported by ground | 1412 (71.6) | 51 970 (79.9) | |
| Transported by air | 26 (1.3) | 79 (0.1) | |
| Transported to nonhospital setting | 0 | 354 (0.5) | |
| Taken into police custody | 11 (0.6) | 218 (0.3) | |
| Patients transported by EMS to acute care hospitalsa | 1438 | 52 049 | |
| Age, y | |||
| 0-14 | 73 (5.1) | 3427 (6.6) | <.001 |
| 15-54 | 518 (36) | 25 222 (48.5) | |
| ≥55 | 847 (58.9) | 23 401 (45) | |
| Women | 803 (55.8) | 26 732 (51.4) | <.001 |
| Met ≥1 field triage criteria | 306 (21.3) | 6943 (13.3) | <.001 |
| Mechanism of injury | |||
| Gunshot wound | 9 (0.6) | 321 (0.6) | .002 |
| Stabbing | 17 (1.2) | 1447 (2.8) | |
| Assault | 42 (2.9) | 2998 (5.8) | |
| Fall | 796 (55.3) | 26 298 (50.5) | |
| Motor vehicle crash | 258 (17.9) | 11 257 (21.6) | |
| Motor vehicle vs pedestrian | 12 (0.9) | 642 (1.2) | |
| Other | 305 (21.2) | 9086 (17.5) | |
| Out-of-hospital time interval, min | |||
| Response interval, mean (SD) | 10.1 (8.1) | 6.3 (5.3) | <.001 |
| 90th Percentile response interval | 20 | 11 | |
| On-scene interval, mean (SD) | 19.3 (11.5) | 19.4 (12.6) | .90 |
| 90th Percentile on-scene interval | 31 | 31 | |
| Transport interval, mean (SD) | 16.8 (15.1) | 15.3 (11) | <.001 |
| 90th Percentile transport interval | 37.1 | 27.6 | |
| Out-of-hospital physiological status | |||
| SBP <90mmHg | 19 (1.3) | 744 (1.4) | .71 |
| GCS ≤8 | 13 (0.9) | 525 (1) | .83 |
| GCS 9-12 | 39 (2.7) | 1284 (2.5) | |
| GCS 13-15 | 1386 (96.4) | 50 240 (96.5) | |
| Respiratory rate <10 or >29 breaths/min | 29 (2) | 1167 (2.2) | .63 |
| Heart rate <60 or >110 beats/min | 151 (10.5) | 6927 (13.3) | .002 |
| Out-of-hospital procedures | |||
| Assisted ventilation, bag-valve mask ventilation, intubation, supraglottic airway placement, cricothyrotomy | 13 (0.9) | 622 (1.2) | .31 |
| Intravenous or intraosseus line placement | 656 (45.6) | 10 340 (19.9) | <.001 |
| Out-of-hospital transport patterns | |||
| Level I | 20 (1.4) | 12 607 (24.2) | <.001 |
| Level II | 76 (5.3) | 3724 (7.2) | |
| Nontrauma centerb | 1342 (93.3) | 35 718 (68.6) | |
| EMS reason for selecting hospital destination | |||
| Specialty center | 22 (1.5) | 4405 (8.5) | <.001 |
| Proximity | 1173 (81.6) | 6320 (12.1) | |
| Ambulance diversion | 8 (0.6) | 839 (1.6) | |
| Patient/family request | 174 (12.1) | 34 952 (67.2) | |
| Other | 60 (4.2) | 5533 (10.6) | |
Abbreviations: EMS, emergency medical services;GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; SBP, systolic blood pressure.
a
For consistency and clarity, all values below this row in the table are based on the denominator of patients transported by EMS to an acute care hospital (ie, nontransported patients do not have many of the time and transport measures presented).
b
Nontrauma centers included level III and IV trauma hospitals.