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- Title
COVID-19 hastalarının hava ambulansı ile nakli.
- Authors
USUL, Eren; KORKUT, Semih
- Abstract
Objective: In the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, emergency healthcare services work on the frontline with land and air ambulances and face serious challenges. Data on the care of COVID-19 patients and transport by European air ambulance systems are very limited. During the pandemic period, many domestic and international COVID-19 patients were transferred by air ambulances. In this study, we aimed to reveal the analysis of COVID-19 patients transported by our air ambulance system and how the transfers took place. Methods: Our study is a retrospective cohort study. Patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 as a result of RT-PCR and transferred by fixed wing air ambulance between 15.04.2020 and 31.12.2020 were included in the study. The information of the cases was obtained from the Ministry of Health Emergency Health Services Automation System (ASOS) and flight records. Flight time, age, gender, hospitalization status (ward / intensive care unit), vital signs, treatment received (nasal oxygen, non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV), mechanical ventilation), transportation patterns and post-transport disinfection procedures were recorded. Results: The number of patients with a definite diagnosis of COVID-19 according to real time PCR results with fixed wing ambulance was 80. 85% of the patients were male and the mean age was 44.7 ± 14.0 years. The average flight time for these patients was 492.2 ± 270.8 minutes. 87.5% (n = 70) of the COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in the inpatient service and 12.5% (n = 10) in the intensive care unit. 2.5% (n = 2) CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy, 3.8% (n = 3) mechanical ventilator follow-up, 22.5% (n = 18) intravenous (IV) fluid therapy and 71.3% (n = 57) received nasal oxygen therapy. Medical team used Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in transferring all patients. 97.5% (n = 75) of the patients were transferred in the Portable Isolation Unit (PIU) and 2.5% (n = 5) were transferred without isolation. Conclusion: Transport and care of COVID-19 patients seem appropriate even for long periods from the air. Proper use of PPE and PIUs can provide security for personnel in charge of air transport of COVID-19 patients.
- Subjects
CONTINUOUS positive airway pressure; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; AIRPLANE ambulances; MECHANICAL ventilators; AMBULANCES; PANDEMICS
- Publication
Turkish Bulletin of Hygiene & Experimental Biology / Türk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji, 2021, Vol 78, Issue 1, p47
- ISSN
0377-9777
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5505/TurkHijyen.2020.16046