Treatise on aeromedical evacuation: I. Administration and some medical considerations

Well conceived administrative procedures must be considered the backbone of a good, strong aeromedical evacuation system. These procedures must insure 1) centralized control of patient transportation by aircraft, 2) specialized medical attendants and equipment for inflight medical care, 3) facilities for limited medical care of patients entering, en route in, or leaving the system, and 4) communications with destination and enroute medical facilities concerning patient transportation. There are no absolute contraindications to aeromedical evacuation. However, patients with the following conditions require special consideration. Such conditions are 1) severe anemia, less than 2.5 million RBC/cc or less than 7.0 g hemoglobin/100 ml, 2) respiratory embarrassment, and 3) trapped gas within any of the body cavities. Medical problems in aeromedical evacuation defy resolution only when patient preparation has been improper. When the patient is properly evaluated, then unnecessary, costly, hazardous, and special flights are avoided. Aeromedical evacuation presents no problem so long as one remembers that man is adapted for life at or near sea level and that changes in pressure with increasing altitude affect his physiological processes. This invisible barrier will continue to challenge human ingenuity in the conquest of high altitude.