Unintended Events in Long-Distance Neonatal Interhospital Transport in Western Australia: A Comparison of Neonatal Specialist and Non-Neonatal Specialist Transport Teams.
Journal of Pediatrics: Clinical Practice · 2024-03-01 · Observational study
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To compare unintended events in transfers performed by neonatal specialist (NS) and non-neonatal specialist (NNS) teams in Western Australia (WA). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective comparison of neonatal transfers from the Kimberley and Pilbara regions (WA) to tertiary services, King Edward Memorial (perinatal) and Perth Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, in Perth (state capital, distance up to 2200 km) between January 2018 and June 2021. NS teams traveled from the tertiary to the referring center and back. NNS traveled from the referring to the tertiary center. Transport time, team composition, total unintended clinical and endotracheal tube (ETT) events were compared. Categorial data are expressed as numbers (%) and compared by χ2 test; continuous data are expressed as median (IQR) and compared by Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: During the study period, 3709 infants were transported in WA to tertiary services for escalation of care: 119 of 3709 (3.2%) from the Kimberley and Pilbara, 49 with NS and 70 with NNS teams. NNS had shorter transport times than NS teams (508 [433-610] vs 675 [610- 735] minutes; P < .0001). Neonatal nurses were on NS more than NNS teams (36/49 [73.5%] vs 6/70 [8.6%]; RR 5.08, 95% CI 3.13-8.56, P < .001). Total unintended clinical and ETT events were less in NS vs NSS teams (28/49 [57%] vs 54/70 [77%]; RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.40-0.92, P = .03) and (0/26 [0%] vs 7/23 [30%]; P = .004). CONCLUSIONS: Although NS teams had longer transport times, there were fewer unintended clinical and ETT events. NS teams should be considered as the first choice to undertake neonatal transport.
Abstract © the authors or publisher, via PubMed. Reuse and removal
Tags
Interfacility & critical care transport · Neonates · Rural & remote · Time intervals
Related articles
- Transportation services for neonates referred to a secondary level health care facility in rural Tanzania: a cross-sectional study. (J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med, 2025)
- A 5-year analysis of the helicopter air mercy service in Richards Bay, South Africa. (S Afr Med J, 2014)
- Comparison of Interfacility Transfer of Critically Ill Pediatric Patients by Helicopter Versus Ground Ambulance in a Remote and Rural Domain. (Air Med J, 2024)
- Quicker team launch times for urgent priority neonatal retrievals: A Quality Improvement Initiative study. (J Perinatol, 2026)
- Neonatal Air Medical Transportation Practices in Italy: A Nationwide Survey. (Air Med J, 2021)
- Using quality improvement to optimize neonatal transport team process metrics for critical transfers. (Pediatr Res, 2026)