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Aeromedical evacuation management of 1145 patients during the COVID-19 epidemic: a retrospective descriptive study
  1. Martín Gascón Hove1,
  2. A Simonetti1,
  3. R Vermeltfoort1,
  4. H Von Perbandt1 and
  5. M Borsch2
  1. 1Aeromedical Evacuation Control Centre, European Air Transport Command, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
  2. 2International Aeromedical Training Centre, German Air Force Center of Aerospace Medicine, Koln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
  1. Correspondence to Dr Martín Gascón Hove; mghove{at}hotmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/military-2024-002900

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    On 1 July 2010, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium inaugurated the European Air Transport Command (EATC). Luxembourg, Spain and Italy later applied for their involvement.1 The seven participating nations (PNs) operate their portfolio of over 150 assets under the logo ‘pooling and sharing’. EATC’s air mobility includes passenger and cargo transport, air-to-air refuelling and aeromedical evacuation (AE).2

    Mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning exceeded 15%. Gradual saturation of hospital capabilities led to AE from overwhelmed facilities to less-affected ones. To ease the process, selected criteria were promulgated:

    1. Course of illness: patients intubated over 5 days.

    2. Respiratory function: arterial oxygen pressure (mm Hg)/fractional inspired oxygen (FiO2) >150, FiO2 <70% and positive end-expiratory pressure <14 mm Hg.

    3. Proning position of the patient.

    4. Organ failure as a negative predictive factor for survival.

    From 16 March 2020 until …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors MGH: conception and design of the work; analysis and interpretation of data and drafting and revision of the work. AS: acquisition of data and revision of the work. RV: analysis and interpretation of data and revision of the work. HvP: contribution to the design of the work and revision of the work. MB: substantial contributions to the conception and design of the work and data interpretation; drafting and revision of the work. HvP and MB: use of English and grammar corrections. All authors contributed to the final approval of the manuscript and are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring the questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.