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Table 4 Distance, transport time and estimated flight procedure. Those missions in which the patient was transported partly by helicopter (n = 7) were excluded from the table

From: Impact of icing weather conditions on the patients in helicopter emergency medical service: a prospective study from Northern Finland

Characteristic

All patients (n = 50)

Definitive treatment not delayed (n = 33)

Definitive treatment delayed (n = 17)

p value

Distance to hospital (km), mean (SD)

 By road

186 (68)

200 (69)

157 (57)

0.028a

 By air

152 (55)

165 (55)

126 (48)

0.017a

Transport time (min),mean (SD)

 GEMS (actual)

118 (43)

128 (43)

101 (36)

0.032a

 HEMS (estimated)

36 (13)

40 (13)

30 (12)

0.017a

 Difference GEMS vs. HEMS

82 (33)

88 (34)

71 (27)

0.067a

Estimated saving of time by HEMS, n (%)

   

0.17b

  < 60 min

13 (26)

6 (18)

7 (41)

 

 60–90 min

22 (44)

15 (46)

7 (41)

 

  > 90 min

15 (30)

12 (36)

3 (18)

 

Estimated flight procedure, n (%)

   

0.63b

 VFR completely

9 (18)

5 (15)

4 (23)

 

 Partly VFR and partly IFR

32 (64)

21 (64)

11 (65)

 

 IFR completely

9 (18)

7 (21)

2 (12)

 
  1. GEMS ground emergency medical service, HEMS helicopter emergency medical service, IFR instrument flight rules, VFR visual flight rules
  2. a Independent samples t test, b Fisher exact test