Timing of Transport of Patients with COVID-19.

RATIONALE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of mortality or ECMO cannulation for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 transferred from sending hospitals to receiving tertiary care centers as a function of the duration of time at the sending hospital. OBJECTIVE: To determine outcomes of critically ill patients with COVID-19 who were transferred to tertiary or quarternary care medical centers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of critical care transports of patients to one of seven consortium tertiary care centers from March 1, 2020, through September 4, 2020. Age 14 years and older with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 transported from a sending hospital to a receiving tertiary care center by the critical care transport organization. RESULTS: Patients transported with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 to tertiary care centers had a mortality rate of 38.0%. Neither the number of days admitted, nor the number of days intubated at the sending hospital correlated with mortality (correlation coefficient 0.051 and -0.007, respectively). Similarly, neither the number of days admitted, nor number of days intubated at the sending hospital correlated with ECMO cannulation (correlation coefficient 0.008 and -0.036, respectively). CONCLUSION: It may be reasonable to transfer a critically ill COVID-19 patient to a tertiary care center even if they have been admitted at the sending hospital for several days.

Air Versus Ground Transport Times in an Urban Center.

PURPOSE: Given that the benefits of helicopter transport vary with geography and healthcare systems, we assessed transport times for rotor wing versus ground transport over a 10 year period in an urban setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All completed transports from 153 sending hospitals in New England from 2009 through 2018 to 8 local tertiary care centers were extracted from an administrative database. The primary outcome of interest was patient-loaded transport time for rotor wing versus ground transports. Overall, 25,483 patient transports met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study. We assessed patient-loaded transport time for all transports, and determined mean time to arrive at the scene, scene to patient time, the bedside time, and distance at which the patient-loaded transport time was faster for rotor wing than for ground transport. We also performed subgroup analyses, evaluating transport times by time of day, day of the week, and destination. RESULTS: The most common indication for transport was adult trauma, (n = 6,008, 23.6%) followed by adult cardiac (n = 4359, 17.1%), adult neuro (3729 14.6%), and adult medical (n = 3691, 14.5%). The median miles traveled for all transports was 26.0, IQR 14-38, ranging from 1 to 264 miles. The median patient-loaded transport time was 27 min (IQR 15-40) for all transports. Nearly all time intervals were shorter for rotor wing versus ground transports, and patient-loaded transport time was significantly shorter at 15 minutes compared to 38 minutes (IQR 12-22 vs 28-33, p < 0.001). There was no distance at which the patient-loaded transport time was faster for ground transport than for rotor wing. CONCLUSIONS: In over 25,000 transports over 10 years, in a compact metropolitan area with relatively short transport distances and times, the use of the helicopter was associated with substantial time savings.

Ventilator Management in Metformin-Associated Lactic Acidosis: A Case Report.

The initiation of mechanical ventilation in the setting of profound metabolic acidosis can be a particular challenge in the transport environment. The classic teaching is that patients with severe acidemia should not be intubated, if possible, because they are often able to better maintain their own compensatory minute ventilation compared with clinician management with the mechanical ventilator. In this case, a patient had profound metformin-associated lactic acidosis with a pH of 6.51 and required intubation for deteriorating mental status with an inability to protect her airway. Maintaining adequate minute ventilation can be directly in conflict with the evidence-based approach of low tidal volume ventilation for all patients. When patients have profound metabolic acidosis without evidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome, increasing the tidal volume slightly to allow for more efficient respiration can be an effective strategy to maintain acid-base status.

Interfacility Transport of Critically Ill Patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess recent advances in interfacility critical care transport. DATA SOURCES: PubMed English language publications plus chapters and professional organization publications. STUDY SELECTION: Manuscripts including practice manuals and standard (1990-2021) focused on interfacility transport of critically ill patients. DATA EXTRACTION: Review of society guidelines, legislative requirements, objective measures of outcomes, and transport practice standards occurred in work groups assessing definitions and foundations of interfacility transport, transport team composition, and transport specific considerations. Qualitative analysis was performed to characterize current science regarding interfacility transport. DATA SYNTHESIS: The Task Force conducted an integrative review of 496 manuscripts combined with 120 from the authors' collections including nonpeer reviewed publications. After title and abstract screening, 40 underwent full-text review, of which 21 remained for qualitative synthesis. CONCLUSIONS: Since 2004, there have been numerous advances in critical care interfacility transport. Clinical deterioration may be mitigated by appropriate patient selection, pretransport optimization, and transport by a well-resourced team and vehicle. There remains a dearth of high-quality controlled studies, but notable advances in monitoring, en route management, transport modality (air vs ground), as well as team composition and training serve as foundations for future inquiry. Guidance from professional organizations remains uncoupled from enforceable regulations, impeding standardization of transport program quality assessment and verification.

Postintubation Sedation After a Formulary Change From Succinylcholine to Rocuronium in a Critical Care Transport Organization.

OBJECTIVE: Rocuronium is increasingly used as a first-line neuromuscular blocker (NMB) in rapid sequence intubation by transport teams. Prior work has shown that rocuronium is associated with a delay in postintubation sedation compared with intubation with succinylcholine. METHODS: Boston MedFlight is a consortium-based transport organization. In 2017, the intubation protocol and formulary for Boston MedFlight was changed to replace succinylcholine with rocuronium. We performed a retrospective review of patients intubated by the critical care transport teams from January 2017 through December 2019. RESULTS: We analyzed data for 264 intubations, 92 with succinylcholine and 172 with rocuronium. Ketamine and etomidate were the most common induction agents. The mean time from NMB administration to the first dose of sedation was 9.2 minutes (95% confidence interval, 5.4-23.7) for the succinylcholine cohort and 14.8 minutes (95% confidence interval, 8.4-38.0; P < .001) for the rocuronium cohort. After neuromuscular blockade, the total hourly weight-adjusted fentanyl dose was significantly lower for patients intubated with rocuronium compared with succinylcholine. CONCLUSIONS: Intubation with rocuronium was associated with a longer time until the administration of sedation and decreased postneuromuscular blockade fentanyl administration compared with intubation with succinylcholine. These findings suggest opportunities for improvement in sedation and analgesia practices after rocuronium rapid sequence intubation.

Operational Policies and Procedures for Critical Care Transport During a Respiratory Pandemic.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic of 2020 to 2021 created unprecedented challenges for health care organizations, including those in the critical care transport sector. Critical care transport services had to rapidly adjust to changing patient demographics, distribution of diagnoses, and transport utilization stratagem. To evolve with the pandemic, organizations developed new protocols and guidelines in rapid succession. The growth bore out of a need to cater to this new patient population and their safety as well as the safety of the crewmembers from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The critical changes to operations involved adaptability, efficient communication, continual reassessment, and implementation of novel approaches. Although these lessons learned were specific to coronavirus disease 2019, many processes will apply to future respiratory epidemics and pandemics. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) pandemic of 2020 to 2021 created unprecedented challenges for health care organizations, including critical care transport (CCT) organizations. The changes were numerous, including a change in the patient population, with a rapid decrease in trauma and pediatrics to a preponderance of adult patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. CCT teams were called on to transport these patients at potential risk to themselves, especially early in 2020, before the effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) was determined. Even seemingly simple tasks, such as defining a person under investigation (PUI) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), varied from institution to institution, putting transport organizations in the middle of conflicts. Agility has always been an essential part of any CCT organization because clinicians and managers must adapt to an unpredictable environment. However, the frequency and speed of changes occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic were unprecedented. This report offers our best practices based on our experience and the available data. Although these procedures were developed for the COVID-19 pandemic, they will logically apply to future respiratory outbreaks and illuminate helpful changes for otherwise quotidian operations.

ECMO and Right Ventricular Failure: Review of the Literature.

Right ventricular (RV) failure is the inability of the RV to maintain sufficient cardiac output in the setting of adequate preload, due to either intrinsic injury to the RV or increased afterload. Medical treatment of RV failure should include optimizing preload, augmenting contractility with vasopressors and inotropes, and considering inhaled pulmonary vasodilators. However, when medical therapies are insufficient, mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is needed to maintain systemic and RV perfusion. The data on MCS for isolated RV failure are limited, but extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) appears to be the most efficient and effective modality. For patients with isolated RV failure from acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, veno-venous (VV) ECMO is an appropriate initial configuration, even if the patient is in shock. With primary RV injury or RV failure with concomitant left ventricle (LV) failure, however, venoarterial (VA) ECMO is indicated. Both modalities provide indirect support to the RV by reducing preload, reducing RV wall tension, and delivering oxygenated blood to the coronary circulation. Peripheral cannulation is required in VV-ECMO and is most commonly used in VA-ECMO, allowing for rapid cannulation even in emergencies. Changes in pulsatility on an arterial catheter waveform can indicate changes in clinical status including changes in myocardial function, inadequate preload, worsening RV failure, and excessive VA-ECMO support leading to an elevated LV afterload. Myocardial function may be improved by titration of inotropes or vasodilators, utilization of an Impella or an intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation support devices, or by changes in VA-ECMO support.

Changes in Oxygen Saturation and Mean Arterial Pressure With Inhaled Epoprostenol in Transport.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure have traditionally been considered one of the riskiest patient populations to transport, given the potential for desaturation with movement. We performed a retrospective cohort study to analyze our experience using inhaled epoprostenol in transport, with a primary objective of assessing change in the oxygen saturation throughout the transport. METHODS: The transport records of patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure or right heart failure, transported on inhaled epoprostenol, were reviewed. The primary outcome was the change in SpO2 from the start of the inhaled epoprostenol transport to the time of handover of care at the receiving institution. The secondary outcome was the change in the mean arterial pressure (MAP). RESULTS: Comparing the initial SpO2 to the final, there was no significant difference in oxygenation between time 0 and the transfer of care at the receiving hospital at 91% versus 93% (interquartile range [IQR] 86.0-93.5 vs 87.5-96.0, P = .49). Comparing the SpO2 for those who had inhaled epoprostenol started by the transport team showed a larger change at 86% compared to 93% (IQR: 83.0-91.0 vs 86.5-94.5, P = .04). There was no change in the median MAP from time 0 to the end of the transport (77 vs 75 mm Hg, IQR, 67.5-84.8 vs 68.5-85.8, P = .70). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, patients with severe cardiopulmonary compromise transported on inhaled epoprostenol had no significant change in their median oxygen saturations, with the overall population increasing from 91% to 93%. When inhaled epoprostenol was initiated by the transport team, the improvement was clinically and statistically significant with an increase in SpO2 from 86% to 93%, with a final oxygen saturation comparable to those who were on the medication at the time of the team's arrival.

Critical Care Transport of Patients With COVID-19.

PURPOSE: Critical care transport is associated with a high rate of adverse events, and the risks and outcomes of transporting critically ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been previously described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of transports of subjects with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 from sending hospitals to tertiary care hospitals in Boston. Follow-up data were obtained for patients transported between March 1st and April 20th, 2020. RESULTS: Of 254 charts identified, 250 patients were transported. Nine patients (3.5%) had cardiac arrest prior to transport. Twenty-nine (11.6%) had hypotension, 22 (8.8%) had a critical desaturation, and 4 (1.6%) had both en route. Hospital follow-up data were available for 189 patients. Of those intubated during their hospitalization, 44 (25.0%) had died, 59 (33.5%) had been extubated, and 13 (17.6%) had been discharged alive. For the subgroup with prior cardiac arrest, follow-up data available for 6. Of these 6, 2 died and 4 (66.7%) have been discharged alive. CONCLUSIONS: Few patients with COVID-19 had an adverse event in transport. The in-hospital mortality rate was 25%, with a 33.5% extubation rate. Patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest prior to transport had a 66.7% discharge rate among those transported to consortium hospitals.

Transport of a Nonintubated Prone Patient with Severe Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure Due to COVID-19.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems have been facing an unprecedented, large-scale respiratory disaster. Prone positioning improves mortality in severe hypoxemic respiratory failure, including COVID-19. While this is effective for intubated patients with moderate-to-severe ARDS, it has also been shown to be beneficial for non-intubated patients. Critical care transport (CCT) has become an essential component of combating COVID-19, frequently transporting patients to receive advanced respiratory therapies and distribute patients in concert with available resources. With increasing awake proning, CCT teams may encounter patients supported in the prone position. Historically, transporting in the prone position has not been embraced due to substantial risks of desaturation during transport. In this case report, we describe the first known report of transporting a non-intubated, critically ill COVID-19 patient in the prone position.

The Effect of Lights and Sirens on Critical Care Transport Time.

BACKGROUND: In the prehospital setting, the use of ambulance lights and sirens (L&S) has been found to result in minor decreases in transport times, but has not been studied in interfacility transportation. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the indications for L&S and the impact of L&S on transport times in interfacility critical care transport. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis using administrative data from a large, urban critical care transportation organization. The indications for L&S were assessed and the transport times with and without L&S were compared using distance matching for common transport routes. Median times were compared for temporal subgroups. RESULTS: L&S were used in 7.3% of transports and were most strongly associated with transport directly to the operating room (odds ratio 15.8; 95% confidence interval 6.32-39.50; p < 0.001). The timing of the transport was not associated with L&S use. For all transports, there was a significant decrease in the transport time using L&S, with a median of 8 min saved, corresponding to 19.5% of the overall transportation time without L&S (33 vs. 41 min; p < 0.001). The reduction in transport times was consistent across all temporal subgroups, with a greater time reduction during rush hour transports. CONCLUSIONS: The use of L&S during interfacility critical care transport was associated with a statistically significant time reduction in this urban, single-system retrospective analysis. Although the use of L&S was not associated with rush-hour transports, the greatest time reduction was associated with L&S transport during these hours.

Malpractice Liability and Health Care Quality: A Review.

IMPORTANCE: The tort liability system is intended to serve 3 functions: compensate patients who sustain injury from negligence, provide corrective justice, and deter negligence. Deterrence, in theory, occurs because clinicians know that they may experience adverse consequences if they negligently injure patients. OBJECTIVE: To review empirical findings regarding the association between malpractice liability risk (ie, the extent to which clinicians face the threat of being sued and having to pay damages) and health care quality and safety. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Systematic search of multiple databases for studies published between January 1, 1990, and November 25, 2019, examining the relationship between malpractice liability risk measures and health outcomes or structural and process indicators of health care quality. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Information on the exposure and outcome measures, results, and acknowledged limitations was extracted by 2 reviewers. Meta-analytic pooling was not possible due to variations in study designs; therefore, studies were summarized descriptively and assessed qualitatively. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Associations between malpractice risk measures and health care quality and safety outcomes. Exposure measures included physicians' malpractice insurance premiums, state tort reforms, frequency of paid claims, average claim payment, physicians' claims history, total malpractice payments, jury awards, the presence of an immunity from malpractice liability, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare malpractice geographic practice cost index, and composite measures combining these measures. Outcome measures included patient mortality; hospital readmissions, avoidable admissions, and prolonged length of stay; receipt of cancer screening; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality patient safety indicators and other measures of adverse events; measures of hospital and nursing home quality; and patient satisfaction. RESULTS: Thirty-seven studies were included; 28 examined hospital care only and 16 focused on obstetrical care. Among obstetrical care studies, 9 found no significant association between liability risk and outcomes (such as Apgar score and birth injuries) and 7 found limited evidence for an association. Among 20 studies of patient mortality in nonobstetrical care settings, 15 found no evidence of an association with liability risk and 5 found limited evidence. Among 7 studies that examined hospital readmissions and avoidable initial hospitalizations, none found evidence of an association between liability risk and outcomes. Among 12 studies of other measures (eg, patient safety indicators, process-of-care quality measures, patient satisfaction), 7 found no association between liability risk and these outcomes and 5 identified significant associations in some analyses. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this systematic review, most studies found no association between measures of malpractice liability risk and health care quality and outcomes. Although gaps in the evidence remain, the available findings suggested that greater tort liability, at least in its current form, was not associated with improved quality of care.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Transport Part 2: Complications and Troubleshooting.

Factors taken for granted while the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patient is maintained in a hospital setting can become critical when planning for transport. These issues include but are not limited to positioning of patients on a small transport stretcher, positioning of cannulas and equipment, ensuring adequate power sources and supply, inefficient temperature control, and a much higher risk of decannulation. It is paramount to be comfortable with the management strategies required to handle common complications of ECMO with limited resources in a relatively austere environment. Coagulopathy and bleeding are the most common complications occurring in up to 50% of ECMO patients. Loss of flow and hypotension from loss of volume or profound vasodilation after ECMO initiation need to be managed accordingly. Oxygenator malfunction can occur, and clinicians must be able to recognize the indicators of this complication promptly. Loss of pulsatility, low end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2), and differential hypoxia are common complications in venoarterial ECMO. In addition, an air embolism is life-threatening on venoarterial ECMO but may be better tolerated in the setting of venovenous ECMO. Recirculation in venovenous ECMO leads to circulation of poorly oxygenated blood and must be recognized and addressed. Lastly, pump failure, circuit rupture, and decannulation are devastating complications. Over the last decade, the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has accelerated rapidly,1-3 providing support for patients in severe respiratory or cardiac failure. With ongoing clinical experience and improvements in technology, the indications for ECMO are increasing.4 Many areas are developing centralized ECMO centers to serve their surrounding communities.5-7 To use a centralized ECMO referral model, patients need access to effective, safe critical care transport, but transporting a patient on ECMO carries a significant risk of adverse events.8-13 The purpose of this review is to highlight some of the most common adverse events in ECMO transports and provide management suggestions. Note that these recommendations are not a substitution for close collaboration with medical control, and all adverse events should be promptly reported per organizational protocols.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Transport Part 1: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Configurations and Physiology.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a term used to describe oxygenation that occurs outside of the body, is an increasingly common means of supporting the most critically ill patients. Because of the invasiveness and high probability of serious complications during ECMO, ECMO is typically indicated only when there is a high likelihood of death with conventional treatment. With continued improvements in technology and increasing clinical experience, transport clinicians are increasingly likely to be called on to transport patients on ECMO. ECMO can be initiated in 2 distinct forms, venovenous or venoarterial, and can primarily support the respiratory system or the cardiac and respiratory systems concurrently. This review will cover the basic physiology and components of ECMO as well as the preparation for ECMO transport for adults.

Mortality and Resource Utilization After Critical Care Transport of Patients With Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure.

INTRODUCTION: We performed this study to quantify resources required by mechanically ventilated patients with hypoxemia after critical care transport (CCT) and to assess short-term clinical outcomes. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of transports of patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure from referring hospitals to 3 tertiary care hospitals to assess the outcomes including in-hospital mortality, ventilator days, intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS, disposition, and reported neurologic status on hospital discharge as well as medical interventions specific to acute respiratory failure and critical care. RESULTS: Of 230 patients transported with hypoxemic respiratory failure, 152 survived to hospital discharge, for a mortality rate of 34.5%, despite a predicted mortality of 64% by Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score. Twenty-five percent of patients were treated with neuromuscular blockade, 10.1% received inhaled pulmonary vasodilators, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was initiated in 2.6%. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort with hypoxemic respiratory failure transported to tertiary care facilities, patients had a mortality rate comparable to patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome treated with best practices and a mortality rate lower than predicted based on APACHE-II score. The risks of CCT are outweighed by the benefits of transfer to a tertiary care facility, and pretransport hypoxemia should not be used as an absolute contraindication to transport.

Does Medical Malpractice Law Improve Health Care Quality?

We assess the potential for medical liability forces to deter medical errors and improve health care treatment quality, identifying liability's influence by drawing on variations in the manner by which states formulate the negligence standard facing physicians. Using hospital discharge records from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and clinically-validated quality metrics inspired by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, we find evidence suggesting that treatment quality may improve upon reforms that expect physicians to adhere to higher quality clinical standards. We do not find evidence, however, suggesting that treatment quality may deteriorate following reforms to liability standards that arguably condone the delivery of lower quality care. Similarly, we do not find evidence of deterioration in health care quality following remedy-focused liability reforms such as caps on non-economic damages awards.

Mechanical Ventilation in Critical Care Transport.

OBJECTIVE: Although the benefit of transferring patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure to tertiary care centers has been shown, transporting hypoxemic patients remains controversial, given the risk of desaturation in transit. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of a database of critical care transports (CCTs) of patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure to quantify the number, types, and effects of ventilator changes performed by the CCT teams. We evaluated the changes in fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2), positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), tidal volume, both FiO2 and PEEP, and the administration of a neuromuscular blocking medication to assess for an association with an improvement in the arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) from the sending to the receiving hospitals. RESULTS: Ventilator changes were made in 211 (89%) of the 237 identified transports, with significant changes in the tidal volume, PEEP, and FiO2. Analysis of variance revealed a significant relationship between changes in FiO2, PEEP, tidal volume, FiO2 and PEEP, and the administration of neuromuscular blocking agents and change in PaO2 (F5,1037 = 119.6, P < .001). Multivariable regression analyses showed a significant association between an increase in PaO2 and increasing FiO2, increasing FiO2 and PEEP, and the administration of a neuromuscular blocking medication. CONCLUSION: The CCT team performed multiple changes to ventilators. Complex ventilator management was associated with a higher PaO2 on arrival.

Medication Administration in Critical Care Transport of Adult Patients with Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure.

INTRODUCTION: Critical care transport (CCT) teams must manage a wide array of medications before and during transport. Appreciating the medications required for transport impacts formulary development as well as staff education and training. Problem As there are few data describing the patterns of medication administration, this study quantifies medication administrations and patterns in a series of adult CCTs. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of medication administration during CCTs of patients with severe hypoxemic respiratory failure from October 2009 through December 2012 from referring hospitals to three tertiary care hospitals. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-nine charts were identified for review. Medications were administered by the CCT team to 98.7% of these patients, with only three patients not receiving any medications from the team. Fifty-nine medications were administered in total with 996 instances of administration. Fifteen drugs were each administered to only one patient. The mean number of medications per patient was 4.2 (SD=1.8) with a mean of 1.9 (SD=1.1) drug infusions per patient. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that, even within a relatively homogeneous population of patients transferred with hypoxemic respiratory failure, a wide range of medications were administered. The CCT teams frequently initiated, titrated, and discontinued continuous infusions, in addition to providing numerous doses of bolused medications.

Improved Oxygenation After Transport in Patients With Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to measure the rate and magnitude of changes in oxygenation that occur in patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure after transport by a critical care transport team. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of 239 transports of patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure requiring a fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio2) > 50% transported from October 2009 to December 2012 from referring hospitals to 3 tertiary care hospitals. We analyzed the change the ratio of the partial pressure of oxygen in the blood to FiO2 from the sending to the receiving hospital as well as the percentage saturation of oxygen (Spo2) before, after, and en route. RESULTS: The mean change in the Pao2/Fio2 ratio from the sending to the receiving hospital was an increase of 27.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.84-39.40; P = .0003). The mean change in Pao2 was an increase of 27.85 mm Hg (CI, 17.49-38.22; P < .0001). The mean Spo2 was not significantly changed at -0.12 (CI, - 1.69 to 1.45, P = .9). Despite improvement in the Pao2/Fio2 ratio and a stable Spo2 on arrival, 28.1% of patients desaturated to Spo2 < 90% in transport. CONCLUSION: In patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure, Pao2/Fio2 and Pao2 increased after transport by a critical care transport team despite 28.1% of patients desaturating with hypoxemia in transit.