Critical Care Aeromedical Evacuation Staff in Batang Airport After the Yushu Earthquake at High Altitude

Abstract

Aeromedical evacuation (AE), which is not well-developed in many less-developed countries, becomes increasingly important in preserving function and saving lives during disasters. Our primary goal was to describe and analyze the age, specialty, the relevant training or operational experience, attitude toward professional training, and main difficulties during aeromedical evacuation in critical care AE staff after the 2010 Yushu earthquake in China. A total of 120 questionnaires were sent to AE staff and 114 responses were received. There were 77 members involved in AE who were classified into an AE Group, and the other 37 were classifed into an Airport Group. Those whose ages were between 26 and 35 yr old accounted for the largest proportion of both groups; the top 3 specialties of the 114 responders were surgery (28.95%), internal medicine (28.07%), and emergency medicine (16.67%). Few of the staff had participated in AE operations or training before they were sent to Batang Airport. However, the proportion of members with experience in other emergency medical operations or training programs in the AE Group was higher. Staff in both groups agreed that the critical care capacity of AE needed to be improved (N = 107, 93.86%) and the need for specialized training was high (N = 105, 92.11%). The main problems raised by the AE Group members were narrow cabin, airsickness, lack of medical equipment, poor coordination, noise, aircraft turbulence, and low air pressure. The results of the study supported the urgent requirement for building a professional critical care AE unit with well-equipped medical staff and facilities, and for founding a formal critical care training program in AE.