ABSTRACT
Objective To improve the quality of transportation of critically ill children in long distance interhospital transport.Methods The clinical data,diagnosis and outcomes of 507 critically ill children transported from other hospitals in long distances to PICU of Guangdong General Hospital,between Aug.2008 and Jul.2011,were analyzed retrospectively.Results Among 507 critically ill children,336 cases were male and 171 cases were female,aged from 29 days to 15 years(median age was 11 months) and weighted from 2.5 to 80.0 kg(median weight was 8.0 kg).The transport durations ranged from 90 to 990 min (median duration was 264 min),among which 121 cases(23.9％)took 121 to 240 min,288 cases (56.8％) took 241 to 480 min,72 cases(14.2％) took more than 480 min.The transfer distance ranged from 74 to 620 km (median distance was 266 km),249 cases(49.1％) of which were transferred from hospitals ranging from 101 to 200 km,133 cases(26.2％) less than 100 km.The top 3 diseases were cardiovascular diseases(169 patients,33.3％),respiratory diseases (128 patients,25.2％) and neural diseases (85 patients,16.8％).None of the patients died on the way and all of them received further treatment.In the end,486 cases discharged,13 cases gave up and 8 cases died.Conclusions During the long distance interhospital transport,a specialist retrieval team with adequate equipments and preparation,close monitoring on the way,can effectively improve the quality of long distance interhospital transportation.
ABSTRACT
Objective. To compare prolonged inter hospital long distance transports on road undertaken by a qualified transport team vs those done by the same team from shorter distances and time. Methods. Retrospective descriptive comparative study of the neonatal transports done during a period of 48 mo. All neonates transferred on road to a tertiary level pediatric hospital from various maternity and pediatric centers. The biochemical characteristics, adverse effects during transport and 24 hr survival after the transport in both the groups were compared. Results. The babies were comparable in their gestational age and ventilatory requirements (46% vs 39%). The biochemical and metabolic characteristics and 24 hr mortality rates for babies who were transported for longer times and distances were comparable (p value =0.75) to those transported for shorter times. Conclusion. Long distance neonatal transport on road is feasible and with a qualified team results can be comparable to those transported from shorter distances.