Mass Aeromedical Evacuation of Patients in an Emergency: Experience Following the 2010 Yushu Earthquake

Background On April 14, 2010, a catastrophic earthquake hit Yushu, China, causing 2698 deaths and 12,135 injuries. A large number of patients were evacuated by air to hospitals in unaffected areas for specialty treatment. Study Objective To investigate the overall process and details of patients' aeromedical evacuation (AE) after the Yushu earthquake. Methods The study was an observational, retrospective investigation conducted in December 2010 in Qinghai province. Information was gathered from Yushu Batang airport, the Ministry of Health, the Health Department of Qinghai Province, and rear echelon hospitals in five provinces. Results A total of 2796 patients were evacuated by 152 separate flights from Yushu. The number of AE patients reached a peak (55.8%) within 72 h after the earthquake. Of the total 2796 patients, 2533 were admitted to rear echelon hospitals. This number included 2111 (83.3%) with earthquake-related trauma, 422 (26.7%) with non-traumatic diseases, and 166 (6.6%) with acute mountain sickness. No accident or medical error was reported during the evacuation process. The aircraft used for AE included IL-76 transport aircraft from the Air Force, Airbus A-319s from civil aviation, and MI-17 helicopters from Army aviation. According to our investigation, the need for professional AE training was great (83.7%). In addition, almost all participants (99.3%) agreed that the aircraft needed to be improved for the purpose of AE. Conclusions Aeromedical evacuation of a large number of patients after major disasters in remote areas can be done safely and effectively; however, problems such as a lack of suitable AE aircraft and medical equipment, as well as insufficient professional medical training in AE, were revealed after the Yushu earthquake.