[Introduction of prehospital blood transfusion programme in Sweden: experiences from a physician staffed helicopter emergency medical service].

In 2016, physician staffed helicopter emergency medical service (VGR HEMS) became the first Swedish prehospital service to routinely carry and transfuse red blood cells. In this report we describe our implementation and present our results, with preliminary analysis of our data. Out of 1 336 patients a total of 34 patients (2,5 %) were transfused without any adverse events. Our demography is predominantly male and the most common mechanism of injury is trauma. Amongst the most common interventions were endotracheal intubation, thoracostomy and CPR. Preliminary analysis showed an increase in median systolic blood pressure and decrease in median heart rate after prehospital blood transfusion. Half of the patients that received CPR had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We conclude that prehospital blood transfusion in a Swedish physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service is feasible and safe.