Incidence and characteristics of prehospital fatalities from haemorrhage in Sweden: a nationwide observational study

Haemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable mortality in high-income countries and emergency management presents unique challenges in the prehospital setting. The study aimed to determine incidence and characteristics of fatalities from prehospital haemorrhage in Sweden.

A nationwide retrospective cohort study 2012–2021 was conducted using data from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. Prehospital fatality from haemorrhage was defined as a cause of death related to haemorrhage (Appendix 1) without a hospital admission on the same day. Primary outcome was age-standardized mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants.

A total of 9801 prehospital fatalities from haemorrhage were identified. Annual age-standardized mortality rate decreased from 10.97 to 8.18 per 100,000 population (coefficient =  − 0.28, r² = 0.85, p =  < 0.001). Trauma was the most common cause (3512, 35.83%) with intentional self-harm (X60–X84), transport accidents (V01–V99) and assault (X85–Y09) being the most common mechanisms of injury. Traumatic fatalities were younger and a larger proportion were male compared to non-traumatic causes (p < 0.001). Overall median Charlson Comorbidity Index (Quan) was 0 [0–2] with a lower index noted for traumatic causes (p < 0.001). Trauma resulted in a median of 26.1 [3.65–49.22] years of life lost per patient compared to 0 [0–3.65] for non-traumatic causes (p < 0.001). Regional variations in mortality rate were observed with lower population density correlating with higher mortality rate (ρ =  − 0.64, p = 0.002).

Prehospital mortality from haemorrhage decreased between 2012 and 2021. Trauma was the most common cause which resulted in many years of life lost in a population with a low burden of comorbidities. There were considerable regional differences with low population density associated with higher mortality rate from prehospital haemorrhage.