[Emergency transport of newborn infants--fetch or bring?]

Neonatal transport is difficult and often associated with problems. In 1998, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Copenhagen, H:S Rigshospitalet, set up a neonatal transport team. The aim of this study was to assess whether a better quality of high risk transport could justify the increased consumption of time.

The schedules for observation and assessment filled in by the transport team were collected and compared with records of the transport of high-risk neonates by local transport. The comparison consisted in the number of infants, severity of the problems, interventions carried out either locally or after arrival at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the condition of the infants judged on the pH, blood sugar level, blood pressure, and body temperature.

The neonatal transport team fetched 68 high-risk infants, whereas 140 high-risk infants were brought by local transport. Infants fetched by the transport team were more sick, both before and during transport, than those brought to us. On arrival at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, more infants brought by local transport had problems (31% vs 16%): 12 (9%) transports had more than one critical problem, in contrast to none of the infants fetched by the transport team. The transport team carried out 71 interventions on 44 of the 68 infants (65%). These interventions explain the better condition of the infants on arrival. Acute interventions soon after arrival at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit were carried out on 91 of the 140 infants brought by local transport (65%).

Neonatal transport of extremely ill infants is difficult. A specialised (transport) team with local stabilisation and transport reduces the frequency of complications. The number of high-risk neonates transported is so small that it is improbable that adequate expertise can be built up and maintained locally.