Patient selection: international traveler who is seriously ill or injured
An international traveler was either evacuated immediately by air or else locally stabilized and then repatriated by a nonemergent means.
Factors associated with a decision to immediately evacuate a traveler by air:
(1) age <= 15 years
(2) absence of a "high standard" hospital (good level of hygiene, intensive care unit, modern diagnostic equipment, etc)
(3) in Sub-Saharan Africa
where:
• The population studied utilized a French air evacuation system. This may explain the relative importance of sub-Saharan Africa.
Parts of the world where a high standard hospital may not be available:
(1) Greenland
(2) much of Bolivia and peru
(3) much of sub-Saharan, Central and West Africa
(4) parts of Pakistan and Afganistan
(5) Papua New Guinea
(6) small islands in the Caribbean, Pacific or Indian Ocean
The authors note that a standardized scoring system may improve allocation of these resources.
