Transport of trauma patients by airway: Turkish experience

Introduction: Air transport is very useful for transporting patients between hospitals in the case of a trauma or illness that requires special care. Transporting trauma patients who require early intervention to large centers for effective treatment ensures both effective treatment and reduction in mortality.
Methods: In our study, a retrospective review was performed using data collected for cases transported by airway organized by the Ministry of Health between January2020 and May2021.Patients transported by plane and helicopter due to trauma were included in the study.The patients were examined in terms of reason for transport, gender,age,medical condition, cities of transport,route of transport,transport vehicle.
Results: 287 trauma patients were transferred,125 by air ambulance and162 by helicopter ambulance.When the transported patients were evaluated in terms of indication; the most common indication for transportation of patients is multitrauma (blunt thoracic trauma, fracture) patients with78 patients. Considering the major centers where patients were transferred,Ankara was in the first place with107 patients in total.Considering the flight times, the average flight time for air transport was77 minutes, and the average flight time for helicopter ambulance was69 minutes.
Conclusion: Transporting patients by air is very important in countries such as Turkey,which have a large area and difficult geographical conditions. Transporting trauma patients who require early intervention to large centers for effective treatment ensures both effective treatment and reduction in mortality.We think that our country's successful air transport system plays a major role in the effective treatment of patients, thanks to its short average flight time and successful transport procedure.