In spring 2020 four regions of France faced a surge of severe Coronavirus (COVID) patients which threatened to overflow local intensive care units (ICU) capacities. As an emergency response, between 03/13/2020 and 04/10/2020, an estimated 661 patients were transferred from overcrowded ICUs to other French regions and neighbouring countries. The study aims at assessing the impact of these inter-ICU transfers on the short and medium term physical and psychological outcomes in this population of severe COVID 19 patients.~All transferred patients between ICUs outside the origin region are invited to take part. For each transfer, up to four control patients will be selected among those admitted in the same ICU during the same period (+/-4 days of transfer date). Clinical data will be extracted from medical records and will include hemodynamic and respiratory parameters, as well as clinical severity scores before, during and after transfer. Data linkage with medico-administrative data will enrich the clinical database and allow follow-up up to one year after initial admission.
The TRANSCOV cohort is a multicentre observational retrospective study aiming at assessing the health impact of extra regional transfers of critically ill COVID-19 patients.