Effects of Medical Transport on Outcomes in Children Requiring Intensive Care

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 889-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Kawaguchi ◽  
L. Duncan Saunders ◽  
Yutaka Yasui ◽  
Allan DeCaen

Background and Objectives: The need to centralize patients for specialty care in the setting of regionalization may delay access to specialist services and compromise outcomes, particularly in a large geographic area. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of interhospital transferring of children requiring intensive care in a Canadian regionalization model. Methods: A retrospective cohort design with a matched pair analysis was adopted to compare the outcomes in children younger than 17 years admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a Canadian children’s hospital by a specialized transport team (pediatric critical care transported [PCCT] group) and those children admitted directly to PICU from its pediatric emergency department (PED group). The outcomes of interest included mortality 72 hours from initial contact with the critical care team (ie, either PICU transport team or intrahospital PICU team). Results: In total, 680 (27%) transports met our inclusion criteria, whereas 866 (7%) cases of 11 570 total PICU admissions were admitted directly from the emergency department. A total of 493 pairs were formed for the matched analyses. Odds of mortality within 72 hours in the PCCT group were significantly higher than in the PED group (odds ratio [OR]: 2.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-4.45; P = .032). When excluding cases who had at least one episode of cardiac arrest before involvement of the pediatric critical care (PCC) transport team, the OR dropped to 1.66 (95% CI: 0.77-3.46). Conclusions: Children transported from nonpediatric hospitals had a higher 72-hour mortality when compared to those children admitted directly to a children’s hospital PICU from its own PED in a Canadian regionalized health-care model.

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 246-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Atwood ◽  
Lance Peeples ◽  
Kathy Donovan

Author(s):  
Sonali Basu ◽  
Robin Horak ◽  
Murray M. Pollack

AbstractOur objective was to associate characteristics of pediatric critical care medicine (PCCM) fellowship training programs with career outcomes of PCCM physicians, including research publication productivity and employment characteristics. This is a descriptive study using publicly available data from 2557 PCCM physicians from the National Provider Index registry. We analyzed data on a systematic sample of 690 PCCM physicians representing 62 fellowship programs. There was substantial diversity in the characteristics of fellowship training programs in terms of fellowship size, intensive care unit (ICU) bed numbers, age of program, location, research rank of affiliated medical school, and academic metrics based on publication productivity of their graduates standardized over time. The clinical and academic attributes of fellowship training programs were associated with publication success and characteristics of their graduates' employment hospital. Programs with greater publication rate per graduate had more ICU beds and were associated with higher ranked medical schools. At the physician level, training program attributes including larger size, older program, and higher academic metrics were associated with graduates with greater publication productivity. There were varied characteristics of current employment hospitals, with graduates from larger, more academic fellowship training programs more likely to work in larger pediatric intensive care units (24 [interquartile range, IQR: 16–35] vs. 19 [IQR: 12–24] beds; p < 0.001), freestanding children's hospitals (52.6 vs. 26.3%; p < 0.001), hospitals with fellowship programs (57.3 vs. 40.3%; p = 0.01), and higher affiliated medical school research ranks (35.5 [IQR: 14–72] vs. 62 [IQR: 32, unranked]; p < 0.001). Large programs with higher academic metrics train physicians with greater publication success (H index 3 [IQR: 1–7] vs. 2 [IQR: 0–6]; p < 0.001) and greater likelihood of working in large academic centers. These associations may guide prospective trainees as they choose training programs that may foster their career values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umberto Raucci ◽  
Anna Maria Musolino ◽  
Domenico Di Lallo ◽  
Simone Piga ◽  
Maria Antonietta Barbieri ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Italy was the first country in Europe affected by COVID-19: the emergency started on February 20, 2020, culminating with national lockdown on March 11, which terminated on May 4, 2020. We describe how the pandemic affected Emergency Department (ED) accesses in a tertiary children’s hospital, composed by two different pediatric centers, one located in Rome’s city center and the second, Palidoro (regional COVID-19 center), in its surrounding metropolitan area, both in the Lazio region, analyzing the profile of admitted patients during the pandemic period in terms of their general characteristics (at presentation in the ED’s) and urgent hospitalizations compared to prepandemic period. Methods The study compare the period between the 21st of February and the 30th of April 2020, covering the three phases of the national responses (this period will be referred to as the pandemic period) with the same period of 2019 (prepandemic period). The study analyzes the number of ED visits and urgent hospitalizations and their distribution according to selected characteristics. Results The reduction of ED visits was 56 and 62%, respectively in Rome and Palidoro centers. The higher relative decline was encountered for Diseases of Respiratory System, and for Diseases of the Nervous System and Sense Organs. A doubling of the relative frequency of hospitalizations was observed, going from 14.2 to 24.4% in Rome and from 6.4 to 10.3% in Palidoro. In terms of absolute daily numbers the decrease of urgent hospitalizations was less sharp than ED visits. For pathologies such as peritonitis, tumors or other possible life-treathening conditions we did not observe a significative increase due to delayed access. Conclusions In the pandemic period there was a general reduction in the number of children referred to ED, such reduction was greater in low-acuity levels. The reduction for respiratory tract infections and other communicable diseases during school closure and the national lockdown must make us reflect on the possible impact that these conditions may have on the health system, in particular the ED, at the reopening of schools. The major problem remains the fear for possible diagnostic delays in life-threatening or crippling diseases; our study doesn’t demonstrate an increase in number or significant delay in some serious conditions such as tumors, peritonitis, diabetic ketoacidosis, ileo-colic intussusception and testis/ovary torsion. A continuous, deep re-organizational process step by step of the ED is nececessary in the present and upcoming pandemic situation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s18-s19
Author(s):  
Ashley Richter

Background: On December 14, 3 unvaccinated siblings with recent international travel presented to Children’s Hospital Colorado emergency department (CHCO-ED) with fever, rash, conjunctivitis, coryza, and cough. Measles was immediately suspected; respiratory masks were placed on the patients before they entered an airborne isolation room, and public health officials (PH) were promptly notified. Notably, on December 12, 1 ill sibling presented to CHCO-ED with fever only. We conducted an investigation to confirm measles, to determine susceptibility of potentially exposed ED contacts and healthcare workers (HCWs), and to implement infection prevention measures to prevent secondary cases. Methods: Measles was confirmed using polymerase chain reaction testing. Through medical record review and CHCO-ED unit-leader interviews, we identified patients and HCWs in overlapping ED areas with the first sibling, until 2 hours after discharge. Measles susceptibility was assessed through interviews with adults accompanying pediatric patients and HCW immunity record reviews. Potentially exposed persons were classified as immune (≥1 documented measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination or serologic evidence of immunity), unconfirmed immune (self-reported MMR or childhood vaccination without documentation), or susceptible (no MMR vaccine history or age <12 months). Susceptibility status directed disease control intervention, and contact follow-up was 21 days. Results: On December 14, all 3 siblings (ages 8–11 years) had laboratory-confirmed measles and were hospitalized. CHCO’s rapid isolation of the 3 cases within 5 minutes after presentation to the ED eliminated the need for exposure assessment on the day of hospitalization. However on December 12, the 1 ill sibling potentially exposed 258 ED contacts (90 patients, 168 accompanying adults) and 22 HCWs. The PH department identified 158 immune contacts (61%), 75 unconfirmed immune contacts (29%), and 19 susceptible contacts (8%); 6 contacts (2%) were lost to follow-up. Overall, 15 susceptible contacts received immune globulin (IG) postexposure prophylaxis and 4 contacts were placed on 21-day quarantine. Unconfirmed immune contacts self-monitored for measles symptoms and were contacted weekly by PH for 21 days. Moreover, 20 immune HCWs monitored symptoms daily; 2 susceptible HCWs were placed on 21-day quarantine. No secondary cases were identified. Conclusions: Rapid measles identification and isolation, high levels (90%) of immunity among contacts, prompt administration of IG, and effective collaboration between PH and CHCO prevented transmission.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 317-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Saiman ◽  
Alicia Cronquist ◽  
Fann Wu ◽  
Juyan Zhou ◽  
David Rubenstein ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:To describe the epidemiologic and molecular investigations that successfully contained an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).Design:Isolates of MRSA were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and S. aureus protein A (spa).Setting:A level III-IV, 45-bed NICU located in a children's hospital within a medical center.Patients:Incident cases had MRSA isolated from clinical cultures (eg, blood) or surveillance cultures (ie, anterior nares).Interventions:Infected and colonized infants were placed on contact precautions, cohorted, and treated with mupirocin. Surveillance cultures were performed for healthcare workers (HCWs). Colonized HCWs were treated with topical mupirocin and hexachlorophene showers.Results:From January to March 2001, the outbreak strain of MRSA PFGE clone B, was harbored by 13 infants. Three (1.3%) of 235 HCWs were colonized with MRSA. Two HCWs, who rotated between the adult and the pediatric facility, harbored clone C. One HCW, who exclusively worked in the children's hospital, was colonized with clone B. From January 1999 to November 2000, 22 patients hospitalized in the adult facility were infected or colonized with clone B. Spa typing and PFGE yielded concordant results. PFGE clone B was identified as spa type 16, associated with outbreaks in Brazil and Hungary.Conclusions:A possible route of MRSA transmission was elucidated by molecular typing. MRSA appears to have been transferred from our adult facility to our pediatric facility by a rotating HCW. Spa typing allowed comparison of our institution's MRSA strains with previously characterized outbreak clones.


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