Review of Literature for Air Medical Evacuation High-Level Containment Transport

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN.
² Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE. Electronic address: jocelyn.herstein@unmc.edu.
³ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN; Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN.
⁴ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.
⁵ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Omaha, NE.
⁶ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine, Omaha, NE; National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE.
⁷ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE; Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.
⁸ Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE; The Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
⁹ The Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
¹⁰ Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE.
¹¹ National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE.
¹² Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE.

PMID: 31578975
PMCID: PMC7128392
DOI: 10.1016/j.amj.2019.06.006

Review

Review of Literature for Air Medical Evacuation High-Level Containment Transport

Shawn G Gibbs et al. Air Med J. 2019 Sep-Oct.

. 2019 Sep-Oct;38(5):359-365.

doi: 10.1016/j.amj.2019.06.006. Epub 2019 Jul 18.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN.
² Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE. Electronic address: jocelyn.herstein@unmc.edu.
³ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN; Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington, IN.
⁴ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.
⁵ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health, Omaha, NE.
⁶ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine, Omaha, NE; National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE.
⁷ Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE; Department of Microbiology and Pathology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE.
⁸ Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE; The Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
⁹ The Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE.
¹⁰ Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE.
¹¹ National Strategic Research Institute, Omaha, NE.
¹² Global Center for Health Security, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; Department of Environmental, Occupational and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE; Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, Omaha, NE.

PMID: 31578975
PMCID: PMC7128392
DOI: 10.1016/j.amj.2019.06.006

Abstract

Introduction: Aeromedical evacuation (AE) is a challenging process, further complicated when a patient has a highly hazardous communicable disease (HHCD). We conducted a review of the literature to evaluate the processes and procedures utilized for safe AE high-level containment transport (AE-HLCT) of patients with HHCDs.

Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE (from 1966 through January 2019). Authors screened abstracts for inclusion criteria and full articles were reviewed if the abstract was deemed to contain information related to the aim.

Results: Our search criteria yielded 14 publications and were separated based upon publication dates, with the natural break point being the beginning of the 2013-2016 Ebola virus disease epidemic. Best practices and recommendations from identified articles are subdivided into pre-flight preparations, inflight operations, and post-flight procedures.

Conclusions: Limited peer-reviewed literature exists on AE-HLCT, including important aspects related to healthcare worker fatigue, alertness, shift scheduling, and clinical care performance. This hinders the sharing of best practices to inform evacuations and equip teams for future outbreaks. Despite the successful use of different aircraft and technologies, the unique nature of the mission opens the opportunity for greater coordination and development of consensus standards for AE-HLCT operations.

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References

1. Wilson KE, Driscoll DM. Mobile high-containment isolation: a unique patient care modality. Am J Infect Control. 1987;15:120–124. - PubMed
1. Thoms WE, Wilson WT, Grimm K, et al. Long-range transportation of Ebola-exposed patients: an evidence-based protocol. Am J Infect Dis Microbiol. 2015;2:19–24.
1. Maunder R, Hunter J, Vincent L, et al. The immediate psychological and occupational impact of the 2003 SARS outbreak in a teaching hospital. CMAJ. 2003;168:1245–1251. - PMC - PubMed
1. Coignard-Biehler H, Isakov A, Stephenson J. Pre-hospital transportation in western countries for ebola patients, comparison of guidelines. Intensive Care Med. 2015;41:1472–1476. - PMC - PubMed
1. Dindart JM, Peyrouset O, Palich R, et al. Aerial medical evacuation of health workers with suspected Ebola virus disease in Guinea Conakry-interest of a negative pressure isolation pod-a case series. BMC Emerg Med. 2017;17:9. - PMC - PubMed

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Review of Literature for Air Medical Evacuation High-Level Containment Transport

Affiliations

Review of Literature for Air Medical Evacuation High-Level Containment Transport

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical