Zurich ’s Air Medical Program Flies Seven ECMO Missions in Ten Days

In a ten day period in January, Rega aircraft in Zurich, Switzerland transported and cared for a total of seven patients, including a two-year-old child, with the most severe cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. This was made possible by a small, portable heart-lung extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which is compatible with both the ambulance jets, and the two types of helicopters used by Rega. Since 2009, Rega has been the only air rescue organization in Switzerland to have its own ECMO equipment. The devices have been instrumental in the care and transport of 25 intensive care patients annually. That’s close to 250 critical patients who have benefited from ECMO and the Rega system. Cooperation with Swiss hospitals is a great example of what can be done with a mix of technology and EMS transportation resources. Rega transports around 2,000 people with cardiovascular problems per year aboard their rescue helicopters and ambulance jets.1 In the most severe cases, patients have benefited significantly from ECMO, which partially or completely takes over the respiratory and/or cardiac function of the patient. Of the seven ECMO missions which took place in January, six were for patients transferred by Rega rescue helicopters from hospitals in peripheral areas to a center hospital. The seventh deployment involved moving one patient in a Rega ambulance jet from Switzerland to Germany. The youngest patient was two years old. "Seven special transports with th...
Source: JEMS Patient Care - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Cardiac & Resuscitation Patient Care Operations Source Type: news