Byrne JP, et al. - Researchers assessed over 2,000 US counties to examine the associations of emergency medical service responses times with motor vehicle crash (MVC) mortality at the population level. They found that longer EMS response times were linked to higher rates of MVC mortality (≥12 vs <7 minutes; mortality rate ratio, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.32-1.61) after adjusting for measures of rurality, EMS on-scene and transport times, access to trauma resources, and traffic safety laws. MVC-related deaths were, overall, correlated with prolonged response times in both rural/wilderness and urban/suburban settings. The authors emphasized that trauma system–level efforts to address regional disparities in MVC mortality should evaluate EMS response times as a potential contributor.

Methods

• In this population-based study, investigators analyzed MVC-related deaths in 2,268 US counties, representing an estimated population of 239,464,121 people, from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2015.
• They assessed the data between October 1, 2017, and April 30, 2018.
• They calculated the median EMS response time to MVCs within each county (county response time, which was derived from data collected by the National Emergency Medical Service Information System).
• Main outcomes and measures included the county rate of MVC-related death, which was calculated by using crash fatality data recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Results

• During the study period, they identified 2,214,480 ambulance responses to MVCs (median, 229 responses per county).
• The median county response time was 9 minutes.