SITUATION OF RESPONSE AND TRANSPORT TIME IN PREHOSPITAL TRAUMATIC PATIENTS FROM SCENE TO HOSPITAL IN TABRIZ – IRAN

One of the most important concepts in pre-hospital trauma patients is a rapid
response and transfer in order to provide high quality care and reduce injuries and deaths in the
emergency situation. Several time indicators affect the process of dispatching ambulances. This study
aims to investigate the pre-hospital dispatching time intervals in Tabriz.
Materials & Methods: In this descriptive study ،the records of all trauma patients ،which activated
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and led to an emergency dispatch ،studied in 2014 in Tabriz. A
four-part checklist consisted of patient characteristics ،patient condition ،scene status and dispatching
time intervals used for collecting data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to the data by
SPSS v.16 software.
Results: A total of 5614 out of 37002 registered missions during a year were related to trauma injuries.
The majority of patients (75.88%) were male. Their mean age was 35.54 ± 17.71. 94.5% of patients had
stable level of consciousness and no patient had died during their transfer in the ambulance. The average
time of activation ،response ،spent at the scene and transfer to hospital were 2.38 ،10.07 ،8.11 and 9.13
minutes ،respectively. Traffic accidents (72.9%) were the most common cause of trauma and blunt
trauma (85.6%) were the most common type of trauma among injured patients. The mean of total
dispatching time (from call to delivery of patients to the hospital) was 30.16 minutes. There is a
significant relationship between the activation time in the various levels of consciousness and
mechanism of injury. Also ،there is a significant relationship between the mean of total dispatching
time ،level of consciousness ،type of trauma ،and the mechanism of injury.
Conclusion: The results indicated that traffic accidents were the leading cause of trauma in Tabriz.
Overall dispatching time indicators were better in comparison to other studies and emergency personnel
were quick in patients with low GCS and penetrating trauma. Ambulances activation time seems to be
higher that requires more planning and modifications to take proper actions in this area