Advancing Prehospital Combat Casualty Evacuation: Patients Amenable to Aeromedical Evacuation via Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

Background: The United States military currently utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance and attack missions. However, as combat environment technology advances, there is the increasing likelihood of UAV utilization in prehospital aeromedical evacuation. UAVs may provide a viable means to reduce transport time to trauma capable medical facilities. Identification of patients who are unlikely to require life-saving interventions (LSIs) during transport may aid prehospital medical personnel in identifying those patients who can be rapidly evacuated in UAVs without medical personnel onboard. We sought to describe patients transported from the point of injury (POI) to the first level of care between January 2011 and March 2014 and to characterize any differences between those patients who received LSIs en route and those who did not to inform military planning on the value of UAV for casualty transports out of the battlefield.Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of MEDEVAC patient care records for United States (US) military personnel who were injured in the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) theater of operations between January 2011 and March 2014. We abstracted the current study dataset (n=1267) from our prior study that examined MEDEVAC patient records from the POI to arrival at the first military treatment facility (MTF). Patients were categorized as receiving an LSI en route if they received at least one of the following during the flight to the first MTF: oxygen administration, airway access, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), defibrillation, chest needle decompression, chest tube, chest seal, tourniquet(s), non-hemostatic pressure packing, hemostatic agents, blood products, and medications delivered via intravenous (IV) or intraosseous (IO) access. We placed the patients who did not receive at least one LSI en route in the No LSI group.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 31, 2020
Accession Number
AD1131297

Entities

People

  • Alejandra Mora
  • Allyson A. Araña
  • Braden Kester
  • Crystal . Perez
  • Joseph K Maddry
  • Julie Cutright
  • Patrick Ng
  • Steven G Schauer
  • Vikhyat S Bebarta

Organizations

  • 59th Medical Wing

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aeromedical Evacuation
  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Airway Management
  • Body Regions
  • Brain Injuries
  • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  • Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena
  • Casualties
  • Combat Casualty Care
  • Health Services
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Medical Evacuation
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Medicine
  • Patient Care
  • Risk Analysis
  • Therapy
  • Thoracic Injuries
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • Trauma or Military Medicine

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs