Critical Care Skill Triad for Tactical Evacuations

Abstract

Objective: Providing medical support to French soldiers deployed on war theater everywhere around the world is the first mission of the French Military Medical Service (FMMS). En-route critical care is critical to maintain the continuum of care and safety during forward and tactical medical evacuation (MEDEVAC). The FMMS has developed specific training programs to ensure optimal en-route critical care air transport. These courses need to be continuously adjusted to the returns of experience and to the operational changes. The aim of our survey was to characterize the critical care skills required for tactical MEDEVAC on fixed wing aircraft.

Methods: A 10-items survey was sent to 22 flight surgeons previously deployed in the Sahel-Saharan Strip. Eight questions focused on basic critical care skills. The 2 last items assessed the flight surgeons' willingness to follow a pre deployment course in a critical care unit and in a transfusion center.

Results: Fourteen of the 22 flight surgeons responded to the survey. All but one responder had to deal with at least one critical care skill. The most frequent critical care skills required were the management of mechanical ventilation, catecholamine infusion and blood product transfusion. Five of the 14 responders reported on-board blood product transfusion, including red blood cells, lyophilized plasma and fresh whole blood.

Conclusion: Our survey highlights the need for the MEDEVAC teams to be skilled in critical care medicine. We defined a triad of critical care skills required for the management of severe casualties, including the management of mechanical ventilation, catecholamine infusion and blood product transfusion.