OBJECTIVE to determine whether the use of a helicopter ambulance unit enabled an ambulance service to deliver acutely traumatized patients to hospital more quickly. DESIGN retrospectively collected ambulance service and hospital records data analysed longitudinally. SETTINGS The ambulance service and the major casualty department in Cornwall. INTERVENTION the provision of a helicopter amb...

BACKGROUND Unnecessary ambulance use has become a socioeconomic problem in Japan. We investigated the possible relations between socioeconomic factors and medically unnecessary ambulance calls, and we estimated the incremental demand for unnecessary ambulance use produced by socioeconomic factors. METHODS We conducted a self-administered questionnaire-based survey targeting residents of Yokoh...

OBJECTIVE. Airway management and endotracheal intubation may be required urgently when a patient deteriorates in an ambulance or aircraft during interhospital transfer or in a prehospital setting. The objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the effectiveness of conventional intubation by Macintosh laryngoscope in a moving ambulance versus that in a static ambulance; and (2) to compare the...

BACKGROUND This paper discusses recent developments in research support for ambulance trusts in England and Wales and how this could be designed to lead to better implementation, collaboration in and initiation of high-quality research to support a truly evidence-based service. METHOD The National Ambulance Research Steering Group was set up in 2007 to establish the strategic direction for in...

The link between high temperatures and ambulance transports in Takamatsu area, Japan was investigated. Monthly observations for ambulance transports (2004-2008) were obtained from Fire Department Service in Takamatsu. Data of temperatures in Takamatsu area, Japan (2004-2008) were used by Japan Meteorological Agency. Effect of high temperatures on ambulance transports was analyzed. By using data...

All patients brought to hospital by a special cardiac ambulance were followed up and compared with patients carried by routine ambulances to assess the effectiveness of a cardiac ambulance service. The overall mortality of patients with heart attacks was 51% among those carried by an ordinary ambulance and 40% among those carried by the cardiac ambulance. The apparently low mortality in the lat...

STUDY OBJECTIVE Emergency department (ED) crowding increases ambulance diversion. Ambulance diversion disproportionately affects individuals who rely on ambulance transport. The purpose of this study is to determine which populations rely most on ambulance transport. METHODS We queried the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey database for 1997 to 2000 and 2003 to 2005 for patients...

BACKGROUND The utilization of ambulances in low- and middle-income countries is limited. The aim of this study was to ascertain frequency of ambulance use and characteristics of patients brought into emergency departments (EDs) through ambulance and non-ambulance modes of transportation. METHODS The Pakistan National Emergency Departments Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) was a pilot active surveillanc...