Which Children Deteriorate Following Inter-Facility Transport: A Retrospective Look at Patient Disposition Outcomes

Abstract

Background Children transported from referring emergency departments (ED) for admission are at risk for early deterioration, however, the incidence is unknown and the children who experience this clinical worsening are not well described. Multiple scoring systems (e.g., transport risk assessment in pediatrics (TRAP) and transport pediatric early warning score (TPEWS)) have failed to reliably predict the need for intensive care admission. We hypothesize that better characterization of these patients will allow for the identification of subgroups of patients with distinct phenotypes who will benefit from additional prehospital, transport, and hospital resources. Objective To identify and characterize …