固定翼機による患者搬送の現状と課題

抄録

Advances in the multidisciplinary treatments improved survival rates, prognosis, and quality of life of critically ill pediatric patients. However, the availability of these highly specialized treatments is limited to large cities with pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), and the seriously ill patients in rural regions often need to be transferred. The ideal solution to this problem is the development of air ambulance services equipped with emergency medical care provided by a specialist doctor. The author established the Japan Critical Care Jet Network (JCCN) in 2022 and started an operation project for fixed-wing aircraft transport of severely ill pediatric patients on 1 April 2024. To date, JCCN has transported six cases of pediatric patients. This review describes the history and current status of patient transport by aircraft and introduces the activities of the JCCN.