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

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.