Case fatality was similar in Level I and Level II trauma centers in North Carolina, and hospital charges were comparable in patients with comparable injuries not requiring transfer. This suggests that patients with major injuries may be optimally cared for in both Level I and Level II trauma centers.
The large majority of trauma patients transported by both helicopter and ground ambulance have low injury severity measures. Outcomes were not uniformly better among patients transported by helicopter. Only a very small subset of patients transported by helicopter appear to have any chance of improved survival based on their helicopter transport. This study suggests that further effort should be expended to try to better identify patients who may benefit from this expensive and risky mode of transport.
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