-Case Reports-

Effectiveness of a Doctor Dispatch System Activated by an Advanced Automatic Collision Notification after a Single-Vehicle Accident: A Case Report

Takanobu Otaguro^1,2, Tomokazu Motomura^1,2, Yutaka Funaki^1,2, Yuita Fukuyama^1,2, Tetsuya Nishimoto³, Yoshiaki Hara^1,2 and Shoji Yokobori²

¹Shock and Trauma Center, Hokusoh HEMS, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital, Chiba, Japan
²Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
³Biomechanics Research Unit, Nihon University, Fukushima, Japan

A 79-year-old woman collided with a cliff in a passenger automobile. The fire department acknowledged an automated collision notification from the D-Call Net (DCN) at 1 min after the accident and called for doctors by helicopter ("Doctor-Heli" [DH] in Japan) 9 min after the injury. The DH reached the victim 28 min after the injury, and examination revealed pain in the right side of her chest, tachypnea, and a weak radial artery pulse (indicating shock). The DH arrived at the hospital 49 min after the injury. Thoracic drainage was performed for right-sided tension pneumothorax. She recovered from shock but was diagnosed with flail chest and placed on a respirator. She was extubated on postoperative day 6 and transferred to a rehabilitation hospital on postoperative day 57. Because of the DCN, the patient received treatment 15 min earlier than she would have with the conventional system. Emergency response task forces must develop strategies for connecting DCN warnings to rapid medical response systems.

J Nippon Med Sch 2023; 90: 465-469

Keywords
emergency medical services, air ambulances, emergency medicine, accidents, automobiles

Correspondence to
Takanobu Otaguro, MD, PhD, Shock and Trauma Center, Hokusoh HEMS, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital, 1715 Kamagari, Inzai, Chiba 270-1694, Japan
t-otaguro@nms.ac.jp

Received, February 22, 2022
Accepted, September 28, 2022