Air medical transport

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) is a devastating event that can cause permanent loss of function or disability. Time to surgical decompression of the spinal cord affects outcomes and is a critical principle in management of tSCI. One of the major determinants of time to decompression is transport time. To date, no study has compared the neurological outcomes of tSCI patients transported via ground/ambulance versus air/helicopter. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cohort study sought to assess the association of the mode of transport on the neurological outcomes of tSCI patients...

INTRODUCTION: We examined the association of long-term exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise with dementia incidence in the Danish Nurse Cohort. METHODS: Female nurses were followed for dementia incidence (hospital contact or medication prescription) from 1993/1999 to 2020. Air pollution and road traffic noise levels were estimated at nurses' residences, and their associations with dementia were examined using Cox regression models. RESULTS: Of 25,233 nurses 1409 developed dementia...

The global burden of diseases and injuries poses complex and pressing challenges. This study analyzed 369 diseases and injuries attributed to 84 risk factors globally from 1990 to 2019, projecting trends to 2040. In 2019, global risks caused 35 million deaths. Non-communicable diseases were responsible for 8.2 million deaths, primarily from air pollution (5.5 million). Cardiovascular disease from air pollution had a high age-standardized disability-adjusted life year rate (1,073.40). Communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases caused 1...

INTRODUCTION: Prehospital resuscitation with blood products is gaining popularity for patients with traumatic hemorrhage. The MEDEVAC trial demonstrated a survival benefit exclusively among patients who received blood or plasma within 15 minutes of air medical evacuation. In fast-paced urban EMS systems with a high incidence of penetrating trauma, mortality data based on the timing to first blood administration is scarce. We hypothesize a survival benefit in patients with severe hemorrhage when blood is administered within the first 15 minutes of EMS patient contact...

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an advanced medical technology that is used to treat respiratory and heart failure. The U.S. military has used ECMO in the care of combat casualties during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as in the treatment of patients during the recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. However, few Military Health System personnel have training and experience in the use of ECMO therapy. To address this dearth of expertise, we developed and evaluated an accelerated ECMO course for military medical personnel...

BACKGROUND: The Critical Care Air Transport (CCAT) Advanced Course utilizes fully immersive high-fidelity simulations to assess personnel readiness for deployment. This study aims to determine whether simple well-defined demographic identifiers can be used to predict CCAT students' performance at CCAT Advanced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CCAT Advanced student survey data and course status (pass/fail) between March 2006 and April 2020 were analyzed. The data included students' Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC), military status (active duty and reserve/guard), CCAT deployment experience (yes/no), prior CCAT Advanced training (yes/no), medical specialty, rank, and unit sustainment training frequency (never, frequency less often than monthly, and frequency at least monthly)...

In remote regions of Kenya, access to healthcare remains a persistent challenge, exacerbated by vast distances, rough terrain, and inadequate infrastructure. Amidst these obstacles, the AMREF Flying Doctors (AFD) based in Nairobi at Wilson Airport emerge embodying the spirit of medical outreach and innovation. Founded with the mission to provide timely medical assistance to underserved communities, this esteemed organization utilizes air transport to bridge the geographical barriers that often impede access to essential healthcare services...

BACKGROUND: In Finland, the yearly number of mechanical thrombectomies for acute stroke is increasing and more patients are transported over 100 km to the comprehensive stroke centre (CSC) for definitive care. This leaves the rural townships without immediate emergency medical services (EMS) for hours. In this study we compare the EMS' estimated return times to own station after the handover of a thrombectomy candidate between two transport methods: (1) using ground transportation with an ambulance to the CSC or (2) using a hydrid strategy starting the transportation with an ambulance and continuing by air with a helicopter emergency medical services unit (HEMS)...

BACKGROUND: Taxi drivers in a Chinese megacity are frequently exposed to traffic-related particulate matter (PM2.5 ) due to their job nature, busy road traffic, and urban density. A robust method to quantify dynamic population exposure to PM2.5 among taxi drivers is important for occupational risk prevention, however, it is limited by data availability. METHODS: This study proposed a rapid assessment of dynamic exposure to PM2.5 among drivers based on satellite-derived information, air quality data from monitoring stations, and GPS-based taxi trajectory data...

Over the past decades, research on nanomedicines as innovative tools in combating complex pathologies has increased tenfold, spanning fields from infectiology and ophthalmology to oncology. This process has further accelerated since the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. When it comes to human health, nano-objects are designed to protect, transport, and improve the solubility of compounds to allow the delivery of active ingredients on their targets. Nanomedicines can be administered by different routes, such as intravenous, oral, intramuscular, or pulmonary routes...

Indonesia still faces challenges in providing healthcare services, and it is crucial to develop an air medical evacuation services system for at least two reasons. Firstly, Indonesia is an archipelagic country and a popular tourist destination. Secondly, there are still significant disparities in the number and types of healthcare facilities and health workers nationwide. To respond to the current situation, the healthcare providers and government have made some efforts regarding air medical evacuation but are showing an unintegrated system...

Neurodegenerative diseases are often referred to as diseases of old age, and with the aging population, they are gaining scientific and medical interest. Environmental stressors, most notably traffic noise and air pollution, have recently come to the forefront, and have emerged as disease risk factors. The evidence for a connection between environmental risk factors and neurodegenerative disease is growing. In this review, the most common neurodegenerative diseases and their epidemiological association with traffic noise and air pollution are presented...

BACKGROUND: Digital health and telemedicine are potentially important strategies to decrease healthcare's environmental impact and contribution to climate change by reducing transportation-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. However, we currently lack robust national estimates of emissions savings attributable to telemedicine. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) determine the travel distance between participants in U.S. telemedicine sessions, and (2) estimate the net reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions attributable to telemedicine in the United States, based on national, observational data describing the geographical characteristics of telemedicine session participants...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Recent systematic reviews of acute care medicine applications of artificial intelligence (AI) have focused on hospital and general prehospital uses. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and describe the literature on AI use with a focus on applications in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). METHODS: A literature search was performed with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles were grouped by characteristics such as publication year and general subject matter with categoric and temporal trend analyses...

Current first-line therapies for seizure management recommend benzodiazepines, which target gamma-aminobutyric acid type A channels to stop the seizure activity. However, seizures may be refractory to traditional first-line therapies, transitioning into status epilepticus and becoming resistant to gamma-aminobutyric acid type A augmenting drugs. Although there are other antiseizure medications available for clinicians to use in the intensive care unit, these options can be less readily available outside of the intensive care unit and entirely absent in the prehospital setting...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Timely access to a lead trauma hospital (LTH) saves lives; however, the vast geography of Northern Ontario creates a barrier to equitable access to an LTH. Paramedics in Ontario follow the field trauma triage standard (FTTS) to identify which patients should be directly brought to an LTH. A pilot project was launched using a fixed wing modified scene response (MSR) to transport patients from Northern Ontario who met the FTTS directly to an LTH. This study aimed to 1) explore the impact of the fixed wing MSR pilot program on the time to LTH arrival for injured patients in Northern Ontario compared with the traditional interfacility transfer (IFT) process and 2) determine the frequency and specific FTTS criteria that were fulfilled...

Sterile water injections (SWI) is a nonpharmacologic pain relief option to treat back pain in labor. This case report describes and discusses the use of SWI in the context of an obstetric retrieval of a 29-year-old woman who was transferred by the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section. It provides an overview of SWI, discusses the relevance for medical transport, and offers suggestions for medical transport professionals.