28 February 2022: Clinical Research
Experience of the Polish Medical Air Rescue Service During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Measures Taken to Protect Patients, Medical Staff, and Air Crew from SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Patryk Rzońca 1ABCDE* , Piotr Tomaka 2EF , Ewa Rzońca 3AEF , Robert Gałązkowski 4BFDOI: 10.12659/MSM.935474
Med Sci Monit 2022; 28:e935474
Table 1 Characteristics and analysis of correlations between the type of mission and selected variables.
| Variable | Total | Type of mission | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency | Inter-hospital transport | |||
| – n (%) | ||||
| Spring | 28 (13.86) | 18 (16.67) | 10 (10.64) | 0.0578 |
| Summer | 24 (11.88) | 7 (6.48) | 17 (18.09) | |
| Fall | 104 (51.49) | 59 (54.63) | 45 (47.87) | |
| Winter | 46 (22.77) | 24 (22.22) | 22 (23.40) | |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Female | 58 (28.71) | 35 (32.41) | 23 (24.42) | 0.2135 |
| Male | 144 (73.76) | 73 (67.59) | 71 (75.53) | |
| – M (SD) | 61.03 (17.80) | 64.18 (18.13) | 57.43 (16.79) | 0.0073 |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Acute respiratory failure | 84 (41.58) | 22 (20.37) | 62 (65.96) | 0.0000 |
| Sudden cardiac arrest | 25 (12.38) | 25 (23.15) | 0 (0.00) | |
| Dyspnea/respiratory tract infection | 18 (8.91) | 17 (15.74) | 1 (1.06) | |
| Stroke | 16 (7.92) | 10 (9.26) | 6 (6.38) | |
| Acute coronary syndrome | 12 (5.94) | 11 (10.19) | 1 (1.06) | |
| Other | 47 (23.27) | 23 (21.30) | 24 (25.53) | |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Dyspnea | 60 (29.70) | 42 (38.89) | 18 (19.15) | 0.0022 |
| Apnea | 41 (20.30) | 21 (19.44) | 20 (21.28) | 0.7468 |
| Cyanosis | 33 (16.34) | 27 (25.00) | 6 (6.38) | 0.0004 |
| Paresis | 15 (7.43) | 10 (9.26) | 5 (5.32) | 0.2867 |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Intravenous cannulation | 155 (76.73) | 91 (84.26) | 64 (68.09) | 0.0067 |
| Tracheal intubation | 90 (44.55) | 32 (29.63) | 58 (61.70) | 0.0000 |
| Sedation | 79 (39.11) | 15 (13.89) | 64 (68.09) | 0.0000 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 71 (35.15) | 16 (14.81) | 55 (58.51) | 0.0000 |
| Urinary catheterization | 59 (29.21) | 3 (2.78) | 56 (59.57) | 0.0000 |
| Muscle relaxation | 47 (23.27) | 12 (11.11) | 35 (37.23) | 0.0000 |
| Airway suctioning | 41 (20.30) | 11 (10.19) | 30 (31.91) | 0.0001 |
| Chest compressions | 28 (13.86) | 27 (25.00) | 1 (1.06) | 0.0000 |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Propofol | 42 (20.79) | 19 (22.09) | 23 (28.40) | 0.0175 |
| Midazolam | 41 (20.30) | 29 (33.72) | 12 (14.81) | |
| Fentanyl/Morphine | 36 (17.82) | 17 (19.77) | 19 (23.46) | |
| Rocuronium/succinylcholine | 26 (12.87) | 8 (9.30) | 18 (22.22) | |
| Noradrenaline | 22 (10.89) | 13 (15.12) | 9 (11.11) | |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Barrier tent | 41 (20.30) | 7 (6.48) | 34 (36.17) | 0.0000 |
| Patient isolation unit | 28 (13.86) | 0 (0.00) | 28 (29.79) | 0.0000 |
| – M (SD) | 86.43 (41.72) | 65.86 (32.35) | 106.53 (40.16) | 0.0000 |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Transport to hospital by the HEMS/EMS crew | 130 (64.36) | 55 (50.93) | 75 (79.79) | 0.0000 |
| Transport to hospital by a ground team | 46 (22.77) | 30 (27.78) | 16 (17.02) | |
| Patient left in place | 26 (12.87) | 23 (21.30) | 3 (3.19) | |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 20 (9.90) | 20 (18.52) | 0 (0.00) | 0.0000 |
| No | 182 (90.10) | 88 (81.48) | 94 (100.00) | |
| – n (%) | ||||
| Yes | 165 (90.66) | 72 (81.82) | 93 (98.94) | 0.0001 |
| No | 17 (9.34) | 16 (18.18) | 1 (1.06) | |