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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 and Medical Evacuation in Lombardy: Lessons Learned from an Unprecedented Pandemic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2023
Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerging infectious disease pandemic developed in Lombardy (northern Italy) during the last week of February 2020 with a progressive increase of patients presenting with serious clinical findings. Despite the efforts of the Central Italian Government, regional resources were rapidly at capacity. The solution was to plan the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) of 119 critically ill patients (median age 61 years) to in-patient intensive care units in other Italian regions (77) and Germany (42). Once surviving patients were deemed suitable, the repatriation process concluded the assignment. The aim of this report is to underline the importance of a rapid organization and coordination process between different nodes of an effective national and international network during an emerging infectious disease outbreak and draw lessons learned from similar published reports.
- Type
- Concepts in Disaster Medicine
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- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health
Footnotes
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AREU Crisis Unit: Enzo Albergoni RN3, Paolo Baldini RN10, Giuseppe Brambilla RN3, Gianluca Chiodini EMT3, Lucia Colombi RN3, Giovanni De Luca RN1, Roberto Di Silvestre MD3, Claudio Mare MD3, Maurizio Migliori MD3, Michele Pirovano RN3 and Fabrizio Polverini RN3
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