Safety of interhospital transport of cardiac patients and the need for medical escorts

Abstract

Transport of cardiac patients by the Townsville Hospital Emergency Department retrieval service were safely staffed and performed, guided by the expert decision making and clinical support of the clinical coordinators. Patients with a provisional diagnosis at the time of referral of myocardial infarction, a history of receiving lysis or cardiac arrest, or on a drug infusion were more likely to require the expertise of a doctor during transport.

2019 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Association of Interventional Cardiology Guidelines on the Acute Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: Focused Update on Regionalization and Reperfusion

“…31,32,[34][35][36] The most commonly observed complications during STEMI patient transport included chest pain, hypotension, tachycardia, and bradycardia. 34,37 Other serious complications requiring advanced or critical care interventions such as cardiac arrest, acute pulmonary edema, and cardiogenic shock (CS) were rare, especially among patients in whom complications were not anticipated before transport. 18,34,36 Transportation of uncomplicated STEMI patients with PCPs appears to be safe but some caveats remain.…”

Resource implications of Inter-facility Transport between Emergency Departments in Hong Kong

“…Critically ill patients have a high risk of deranged physiology and en route complications that may require organ support and invasive monitoring 5. En route intervention sometimes requires the expertise of a doctor, especially for cardiac patients 6. Mortality and length of stay in hospital were a concern in the outcome management of IFT service, in addition to the financial cost.…”

Air ambulance outcome measures using Institutes of Medicine and Donabedian quality frameworks: protocol for a systematic scoping review

“…However, the implementation of air ambulances are often tested in austere and unfamiliar situations [2][3][4][5][6][7], using limited and costly resources [8][9][10][11], and inequity of time [12,13], distance [13][14][15], and accessibility [16][17][18][19]. Similar themes have emerged in multiple regions and countries (2:6, 8, 10:13).…”