Air medical journal
-
Air medical journal · Jul 2021
Rural and Remote Intubations in an Australian Air Medical Retrieval Service: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Critically unwell patients in rural and remote areas of Queensland, Australia, often require airway management with rapid sequence intubation before retrieval to a tertiary center. Retrieval Services Queensland coordinate retrievals and support rural hospitals, including via telehealth. This study compared the demographics of patients intubated by a retrieval team including a LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine doctor with those intubated by the local hospital team. ⋯ A retrieval team is more likely to intubate patients in remote hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Remote hospitals should be given preference for dispatch of the retrieval team for assistance with critical patients.