Characteristics of patients with a blunt head trauma (with or without injuries to other body regions) requiring prehospital anaesthesia (n=249)
| All subjects (n=249) | Normal ICP (n=162) | Raised ICP (n=87) | P value* | |
| Patient characteristics | ||||
| Age (year) | 49 (46–51) | 47 (43–50) | 54 (49–59) | 0.009 |
| Gender (male), n (%) | 183 (73.4) | 117 (72.2) | 66 (75.8) | 0.36 |
| Injuries | ||||
| Isolated TBI, n (%) | 93 (37.3) | 46 (28.3) | 47 (54.0) | <0.0001 |
| Multisystem injuries, n (%) | 154 (61.8) | 114 (70.4) | 40 (46.0) | <0.001 |
| Code red, n (%) | 53 (21.3) | 40 (24.7) | 13 (14.9) | 0.07 |
| Missing | 2 (0.8) | 2 (1.2) | ||
| Vital signs on arrival HEMS | ||||
| GCS before intubation | 7 (7) | 6 (6) | 5 (5) | <0.001 |
| Eyes score | 1 (2) | 2 (2) | 1 (1) | 0.001 |
| Motor score | 4 (3) | 5 (2) | 2 (4) | <0.001 |
| Verbal score | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 1 (1) | 0.001 |
| First SBP recorded | 144 (132–157) | 131 (120–141) | 168 (140–196) | 0.005 |
| First HR recorded | 106 (93–118) | 102 (91–113) | 112 (83–141) | 0.47 |
| Vital signs anytime during HEMS treatment | ||||
| Highest prehospital SBP† | 153 (149–157) | 149 (145–153) | 160 (154–167) | 0.003 |
| Highest prehospital DBP† | 103 (100–106) | 102 (98–106) | 104 (99–110) | 0.48 |
| Highest prehospital MAP† | 120 (116–123) | 114 (113–122) | 123 (118–129) | 0.11 |
| Lowest prehospital HR† | 82 (79–85) | 85 (82–89) | 77 (72–77) | 0.003 |
| SBP >160 mm Hg, n (%) | 94 (36.3) | 51 (31.5) | 43 (49.5) | 0.004 |
| HR <60 bpm, n (%) | 41 (15.8) | 19 (11.7) | 22 (25.3) | 0.007 |
| SBP >160 mm Hg and HR <60 bpm, n (%) | 15 (6.0) | 5 (3.0) | 10 (11.4) | 0.011 |
| Fixed dilated pupil(s), n (%) | 31 (12.4) | 6 (3.7) | 25 (28.7) | <0.001 |
| HEMS hyperosmolar therapy | ||||
| HS 5%, n (%) | 58 (23.3) | 15 (9.3) | 43 (49/4) | <0.001 |
Represented are mean values except for GCS (median (IQR)).
*Represented are unadjusted p values.
†To minimise the impact of spurious readings, highest/ lowest values were averages of three consecutive recordings: the highest/lowest recorded, and the readings before and after.
DBP, diastolic blood pressure; GCS, Glasgow Coma Scale; HEMS, Helicopter Emergency Medical Service; HR, heart rate; HS, hypertonic saline; ICP, intracranial pressure; MAP, mean arterial pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure; TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury.