Descriptive Analysis of Intratheater Critical Care Air Transport Team Patient Movements During Troop Drawdown: Afghanistan (2017–2019)
| Autor: | S Whitney Zingg, Joel Elterman, Melissa Proctor, Ann Salvator, Mark Cheney, Jonathan Hare, William T Davis, Nathan Rosenberry, Daniel J Brown, Ryan Earnest, F Eric Robinson, Timothy A Pritts, Richard Strilka |
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| Rok vydání: | 2022 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Military Medicine. |
| ISSN: | 1930-613X 0026-4075 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/milmed/usac097 |
| Popis: | BackgroundThe majority of critical care air transport (CCAT) flights are regulated, meaning that a theater-validating flight surgeon has confirmed that the patient is medically cleared for flight and that evacuation is appropriate. If the conditions on the ground do not allow for this process, the flight is unregulated. Published data are limited regarding CCAT unregulated missions to include the period of troop drawdown at the end of the Afghanistan conflict. The objective of our study was to characterize the unregulated missions within Afghanistan during troop drawdown and compare them to regulated missions during the same timeframe.Study DesignWe performed a retrospective review of all CCAT medical records of patients transported via CCAT within Afghanistan between January 2017 and December 2019. We abstracted data from the records, including mission characteristics, patient demographics, injury descriptors, preflight military treatment facility procedures, CCAT procedures, in-flight CCAT treatments, in-flight events, and equipment issues. Following descriptive and comparative analysis, a Cochran–Armitage test was performed to evaluate the statistical significance of the trend in categorical data over time. Multivariable regression was used to assess the association between vasopressors and preflight massive transfusions, preflight surgical procedures, injury patterns, and age.ResultsWe reviewed 147 records of patients transported via CCAT: 68 patients were transported in a regulated fashion and 79 on an unregulated flight. The number of patients evacuated increased year-over-year (n = 22 in 2017, n = 57 in 2018, and n = 68 in 2019, P ConclusionDuring the troop drawdown in Afghanistan, the number of unregulated missions increased geometrically because the medical footprint was decreasing. During unregulated missions, CCAT providers used ketamine more frequently, consistent with Tactical Combat Casualty Care guidelines. In addition, TBI was the only predictor of vasopressor use and may reflect an attempt to adhere to unmonitored TBI clinical guidelines. Interoperability between CCAT and AE teams is critical to meet mass casualty needs in unregulated mission environments and highlights a need for joint training. It remains imperative to evaluate changes in mission requirements to inform en route combat casualty care training. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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