European aeromedical evacuation transports with SARS-COV 2 positive patients [Innereuropäische Aeromedical-Evacuation-Transporte im Rahmen von COVID-19]
Background As part of the humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the German Armed Forces provided air transport for patients to Germany from overwhelmed regional hospitals in Italy and France. Thus far, 22 Italian and 2 French citizens have been flown to Germany as part of this effort. The objective of this study is to use a pre-post comparison to analyse changes in vital signs, in particular regarding the ventilation status of the patients, and to draw conclusions for future transports of COVID-19 patients in fixed-wing aircraft.