En Route Use of Analgesics in Nonintubated, Critically Ill Patients Transported by U.S. Air Force Critical Care Air Transport Teams.

Introduction: U.S. Critical Care Air Transport Teams (CCATTs) evacuate critically ill patients with acute pain in the combat setting.

Prehospital and en route analgesic use in the combat setting: a prospectively designed, multicenter, observational study.

Background: Combat injuries result in acute, severe pain. Early use of analgesia after injury is known to be beneficial. Studies on prehospital analgesia in combat are limited and no prospectively designed study has reported the use of analgesics in the prehospital and en route care setting.

Aeromedical evacuation of combat patients by military critical care air transport teams with a lower hemoglobin threshold approach is safe.

Background: Military critical care air transport teams (CCATT) evacuate critically ill and injured patients out of theater for tertiary treatment. Teams are led by a physician, nurse, and respiratory technician. Current aeromedical guidelines require a hemoglobin (Hgb) of 9 g/dL or greater to evacuate; however, civilians report that an Hgb of 8 g/dL or less is safe in critically ill patients.

Prehospital and en route cricothyrotomy performed in the combat setting: a prospective, multicenter, observational study.

Introduction: Airway compromise is the third most common cause of potentially preventable combat death. Surgical cricothyrotomy is an infrequently performed but lifesaving airway intervention. There are limited published data on prehospital cricothyrotomy in civilian or military settings.