The majority of cases (70.9%) admitted to the PICU following an intoxication did not undergo any significant intervention. Future studies should focus on distinguishing patient and intoxication characteristics associated with need for PICU intervention to optimize patient safety and minimize resource burden.
Combining procedures was associated with higher propofol doses, prolonged duration, and a small increase in likelihood of SAEs compared with individual procedures. All AEs fell within the scope of management by the sedation team. Balancing the increased, but manageable, risks versus the advantages of family/patient convenience, enhanced resource utilization, and minimization of potential neurotoxicity from anesthetics supports combining procedures when possible.
Objective
The aim of this study was to assess national pediatric/neonatal specialty transport teams' composition and training requirements to determine if any current standardization exists.
Methods
This was a survey of the transport teams listed with the American Academy of Pediatrics via SurveyMonkey.
Results
While most of the teams maintain internal criteria for team competency and training, there is large variation across team compositions. The vast majority of the teams have a nurse-led team with the addition of another nurse, medic, and/or respiratory therapist regardless of mode of transport. Many of the teams report adjusting team composition based on acuity. Fewer than 15% of teams have a physician as a standard team member. More than 80% required a minimum number of supervised intubations prior to independent practice; however, the number varied largely from as little as 3 to as many as 30. Eighty-eight percent of the teams report using simulation as part of their education program, but again there were marked differences between teams as to how it was used.
Conclusions
There is tremendous variability nationally among pediatric/neonatal transport teams regarding training requirements, certifications, and team composition. The lack of standardization regarding team member qualifications or maintenance of competency among specialized transport teams should be looked at more closely, and evidence-based guidelines may help lead to further improved outcomes in the care of critically ill pediatric patients in the prehospital setting.
These validated models identified children at very low risk of clinically significant intoxications for whom pediatric intensive care admission can be avoided. Application of this model using Georgia Poison Center data could have resulted in a 30% reduction in PICU admissions following intoxication.
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