Abstract
Air Ambulance Services in the Arctic 1999–2009: A Norwegian Study
This retrospective study reviewed Norwegian air ambulance operations in the Arctic from 1999 to 2009. The specific aims of the study focused on trends in patient diagnoses, gross patient epidemiologic data, and flight details throughout the year.
In the 11-year period, a total of 345 patients used the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority air fleet serviced by Luftambulanse Tjenesten. All air ambulance activity was reported by the respective medical personal and stored in LABAS—an electronic database. The LABAS was accessed in February 2010 to obtain flight information, triage priority (nonurgent, urgent, emergent), and patient data. Mean airtime averaged 3 hours and 33 minutes one way, with 35 delayed flights averaging 36 minutes. Heart and vascular diseases comprised 22% of the total flights and were the most common diagnoses, followed by bone fractures (21%) and gynecologic/obstetric problems (8%). Median patient age was 47 years, 34% were female, 65% were male, and 22% of the patients were not of Norwegian descent. In regard to triage priority, 76% were classified as urgent or emergent cases, the majority of which occurred during the summer months.
The authors explored the difficulties associated with Arctic rescue, including extreme cold, fluctuating winds, lack of landing sites, and white-out conditions. Air ambulance services are expensive to operate, but could be ameliorated by the implementation of a highly coordinated fleet and strict mandates for aeromedical evacuation.
(Int J Emerg Med. 2011;4:1–8). L Norum, T Elsbak
Prepared by Phillip Hoverstadt, MD, University of Texas Medical Branch, Medical Student, Galveston, TX, USA