Safe intrahospital transport of critically ill COVID-19 patients

Abstract

2019 corona virus disease (COVID-19) cases may be brought out of isolation rooms for a variety of reasons. One of the most important and unintended complication of transporting a COVID-19 patient is nosocomial spread of the disease. Thus, it is important to decide if patient transport is really necessary, and take precautions definitively when transport is indicated. Additionally, providing adequate level of patient care while maintaining the transport of a critically ill COVID-19 patient is essential. In this part, patient safety, health care worker safety, bystander safety and post-transport decontamination, which are the main principles forming the basis of safe critically ill COVID-19 patient transport were reviewed per the published reports and the recommendations of current guidelines.