RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Physicians caring for patients with COVID-19 are at high risk for contracting the disease, thus, significant emphasis has been placed on personal protective equipment (PPE). The study aims to assess the impact of advanced PPE across 4 common procedures: endotracheal intubation, bag-valve mask ventilation, intraosseous (IO) insertion, and lumbar puncture (LP) performed by pediatric emergency physicians. METHOD: Physicians performed the procedures in a simulated environment. Lumbar puncture and IO were performed with standard precautions versus an air purifying respirator (APR). A direct comparison was drawn for endotracheal intubation and bag-valve mask ventilation between 2 commonly used APRs. Success rate and number of attempts toward successful completion was recorded for all 4 procedures. Physicians filled out a postprocedure survey to assess their ease of use of the APR. RESULTS: Twenty participants performed IO and LP using an APR and standard precautions. There was no statistical difference in the success rate, number of attempts, average time, or maintenance of sterility (LP only) for both procedures. Twenty total participants divided across 2 types of APR groups performed intubation and BMV. Success rate and number of attempts had no statistical difference for both procedures. Physician feedback surveys to assess the ease of use of APR compared with standard precautions had no statistically significant difference for all 4 procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Wearing increased levels of PPE did not impact procedural success, length of time, sterility, number of attempts, or the physicians' ease in our study. Physicians should be encouraged to wear all appropriate PPE.
RESUMEN
Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented burnout in frontline health care providers. However, the impact of the pandemic on interfacility pediatric and neonatal transport team members has not been studied. The current study uses a survey design to document the impact of the pandemic on pediatric and neonatal transport team members with a focus on staffing and resilience promotion strategies. Methods Data for this study came from a short cross-sectional survey distributed to members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Transport Medicine. Results Sixty-six teams responded (around 45%). Forty-one respondents (62%) reported vacancies on their transport teams, with 35 (53.8%) reporting more vacancies during the pandemic. Forty percent of highly trained registered nurses and respiratory therapists from specialty teams left their positions for those with better compensation during the pandemic. Forty-two percent of respondents were not trained to recognize burnout, stress, or compassion fatigue. Conclusion Our study shows that half of the respondents had more vacancies during the pandemic than in previous years and reported difficulty in filling those positions. We were unable to link the vacancies to the pandemic and burnout because hospitalizations and transports in the pediatric facilities decreased during the pandemic;however, we do report that coronavirus disease 2019 exposure before the vaccine was a source of stress for team members. There are opportunities to improve the identification of burnout and to foster resilience and boost retention of this highly skilled niche workforce.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented burnout in frontline health care providers. However, the impact of the pandemic on interfacility pediatric and neonatal transport team members has not been studied. The current study uses a survey design to document the impact of the pandemic on pediatric and neonatal transport team members with a focus on staffing and resilience promotion strategies. METHODS: Data for this study came from a short cross-sectional survey distributed to members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Transport Medicine. RESULTS: Sixty-six teams responded (around 45%). Forty-one respondents (62%) reported vacancies on their transport teams, with 35 (53.8%) reporting more vacancies during the pandemic. Forty percent of highly trained registered nurses and respiratory therapists from specialty teams left their positions for those with better compensation during the pandemic. Forty-two percent of respondents were not trained to recognize burnout, stress, or compassion fatigue. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that half of the respondents had more vacancies during the pandemic than in previous years and reported difficulty in filling those positions. We were unable to link the vacancies to the pandemic and burnout because hospitalizations and transports in the pediatric facilities decreased during the pandemic; however, we do report that coronavirus disease 2019 exposure before the vaccine was a source of stress for team members. There are opportunities to improve the identification of burnout and to foster resilience and boost retention of this highly skilled niche workforce.