Inter- and Intra-hospital Transport of the Critically Ill

Inter- and intra-hospital transport of the critically ill.

Intra- and inter-hospital transport is common due to the need for advanced diagnostics and procedures, and to provide access to specialized care. Risks are inherent during transport, so the anticipated benefits of transport must be weighed against the possible negative outcome during the transport. Adverse events are common in both in and out of hospital transports, the most common being equipm...

Recommendations for the intra-hospital transport of critically ill patients

INTRODUCTION This study was conducted to provide Intensive Care Units and Emergency Departments with a set of practical procedures (check-lists) for managing critically-ill adult patients in order to avoid complications during intra-hospital transport (IHT). METHODS Digital research was carried out via the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and HEALTHSTAR databases using the following key words: transfe...

Inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients; expect surprises

INTRODUCTION Inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients is increasing. When performed by specialized retrieval teams there are less adverse events compared to transport by ambulance. These transports are performed with technical equipment also used in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As a consequence technical problems may arise and have to be dealt with on the road. In this study, all te...

Should parents accompany critically ill children during inter-hospital transport?

BACKGROUND Parental accompaniment during inter-hospital transportation (retrieval) of critically ill children is not commonplace in the United Kingdom. METHODS A three month pilot of parental accompaniment was undertaken in 2002 (143 retrievals), after which time the policy was adopted as standard practice. A follow up audit was performed in 2004 (136 retrievals). RESULTS Findings were rema...

Transport of the critically ill.