The effect on intra-hospital transfer success of checklist in the pediatric emergency department: An interventional observational study

Introduction

Transfer of pediatric patients from the emergency department to in-hospital units is often inevitable. Since emergency departments are the first point of admission for patients, transfers are risky in terms of adverse events. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the in-hospital transfer checklist in the pediatric emergency department on transfer success.

Methods

This study is an interventional observational study. The study was conducted in the pediatric emergency department of a university hospital in western Turkey between January 01 and March 31, 2024. After the control data (n = 120) were obtained retrospectively, a checklist for in-hospital transfer was created. Then, the data of the intervention group (n = 120) in which the checklist was used were obtained. The data between the two groups were compared using SPSS.

Results

The in-hospital transfer time of pediatric emergency department patients decreased from 12 min (median) to 10 min (median) after the checklist was applied (p < 0.05). The rate of adverse events decreased from 46.7 % to 10.8 % depending on the use of the checklist (p > 0.05). The intervention group had a significantly lower impact score (p < 0.05) in terms of clinical and non-clinical adverse events compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Transporting pediatric patients from the emergency department to other units is an issue that requires attention. Using trained personnel, appropriate equipment, standardized protocols, and checklists will effectively reduce the frequency of adverse events.