ArticleAnnals of intensive care2021
Inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients to manage the intensive care unit surge during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.
Article in Annals of intensive care, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inter-hospital ICU-to-ICU transfer of critically ill COVID-19 patients is not associated with increased mortality: a systematic review with exploratory meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Reported adverse events during out-of-hospital mechanical ventilation and ventilatory support in emergency medical services and critical care transport crews: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Factors Associated with Transport Instability and Outcome Deterioration During Interhospital Intensive Care Transfers of Patients with COVID-19 in Germany.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- [Experiences from SARS-CoV-2 pandemic at UKSH Lübeck].Medizinische Klinik, Intensivmedizin und Notfallmedizin · 2026Article
- High-speed trains versus air transport vectors for mass transfers of critically ill patients: The TRANSCOV cohort study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Technological arrangements for regulating access to healthcare: experience in the state of São Paulo.Revista de saude publica · 2026Article
- Interhospital transports and mortality in patients with critical COVID-19: a single-centre cohort study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Interhospital transfer among US veterans admitted to community and veterans affairs hospitals for acute myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of hospital medicine · 2025Article
- Trends and Patterns of ICU E-Referrals in Saudi Arabia during 2020-2021: Results from the National Saudi Medical Appointments and Referrals Centre.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Period of hospitalization and mortality in transferred versus non-transferred COVID-19 patients: results from Germany.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Unit-to-unit transfer due to shortage of intensive care beds in Sweden 2015-2019 was associated with a lower risk of death but a longer intensive care stay compared to no transfer: a registry study.Journal of intensive care · 2024Article
- Critical care and pandemic preparedness and response.British journal of anaesthesia · 2023Review
- The association of intensive care capacity transfers with survival in COVID-19 patients from a Scottish district general hospital: A retrospective cohort study.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2023Article
- The positive impact of COVID-19 on critical care: from unprecedented challenges to transformative changes, from the perspective of young intensivists.Annals of intensive care · 2023Review
- Temporary ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic first wave: description of the cohort at a French centre.BMC anesthesiology · 2022Article
- Comparison of patient characteristics and long-term mortality between transferred and non-transferred COVID-19 patients in Dutch intensive care units: A national cohort study.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2022Article
- Safety during interhospital helicopter transfer of ventilated COVID-19 patients. No clinical relevant changes in vital signs including non-invasive cardiac output.Respiratory research · 2022Article
- Developments in adult critical care transfer in England: a positive legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.Anaesthesia · 2022Article
- Patient outcomes following transfer between intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic.Anaesthesia · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic led authorities to evacuate via various travel modalities critically ill ventilated patients into less crowded units. However, it is not known if interhospital transport impacts COVID-19 patient's mortality in intensive care units (ICUs). A cohort from three French University Hospitals was analysed in ICUs between 15th of March and the 15th of April 2020. Patients admitted to ICU with positive COVID-19 test and mechanically ventilated were recruited.
resultsAmong the 133 patients included in the study, 95 (71%) were male patients and median age was 63 years old (interquartile range: 54-71). Overall ICU mortality was 11%. Mode of transport included train (48 patients), ambulance (6 patients), and plane plus helicopter (14 patients). During their ICU stay, 7 (10%) transferred patients and 8 (12%) non-transferred patients died (p = 0.71). Median SAPS II score at admission was 33 (interquartile range: 25-46) for the transferred group and 35 (27-42) for non-transferred patients (p = 0.53). SOFA score at admission was 4 (3-6) for the transferred group versus 3 (2-5) for the non-transferred group (p = 0.25). In the transferred group, median PaO
conclusionsIn France, inter-hospital evacuation of COVID-19 ventilated ICU patients did not appear to increase mortality and therefore could be proposed to manage ICU surges in the future.
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