The epidemic characteristics of interhospital transport of critically ill pediatric patients

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the importance of the interhospital transport of critically ill pediatric patients by analyzing the epidemic characteristics of pediatric patients trans- ported from 2009 to 2012. Methods Nine thousand two hundred and thirty-one referral patients from January 2009 to June 2012 were evaluated by a cross-section study. Epidemiological data such as sex, age, seasons, and referral radius were collected. Results Among all the interhospital transport of critically ill pediatric pa- tients,male to female ratio was nearly 2. 24 to 1 and 87. 39% （8067/9231） patients were neonates and in- fants. Of all patients,66. 32% （6122/9231 ） patients were from department of pediatrics, neonatology or gy- naecology and obstetrics in referring hospitals. The distribution of referring department among years was sta- tistically significant in referring patients （ χ2 = 227. 53, P 〈 0. 000 1 ）. Among the patients, 56. 88% （ 5251/ 9231） were transported over 150km radius and only 12. 18% （1124/9231） patients in 50 kin. 52. 89% （4882/9231） were transported in spring and winter. The seasonal distribution of interhospital transport of critically ill pediatric patients was statistically significant（ χ2 = 1201.88 ,P 〈 0. 000 1 ）. The majority of refer- ral telephones were received between 9 AM to 12 AM. Conclusion With the limitation of equipment and technical measure in primary hospitals, critically ill pediatric patients should be transported to tertiary hospi- tals. According to the epidemiological characteristics of interhospital transport of critically ill pediatric pa- tients, some measures should be adopted for the timely, safe and effective interhospital transportation. Key words: Interhospital transportation; Critically ill pediatric patients; Epidemic characteristics