[Are parents present during invasive procedures? Assessment in 32 Spanish hospitals]

Parental participation in medical decisions involving their children is essential and family presence during invasive procedures (IP) is fundamental.

1) To determine the frequency of parental presence during different IP in Spanish Paediatrics Emergency Departments (PED). 2) To assess the reasons for restricting parental presence. 3) To evaluate the agreement of health care professionals with regards to parental presence.

Descriptive multicentre study based on questionnaires sent to physicians in charge of different Spanish PED.

Thirty-two out of 43 questionnaires were replied. Family presence during IP is never allowed in 11 hospitals. In the rest, this varies depending on the type of IP: blood sampling (15 hospitals), wound suture (14), urethral catheterization (9), lumbar puncture (7), intubation (1) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (1), with no significant differences between hospitals. The main arguments for restricting parental presence are parental anxiety (26/30) and a lower performance by health personnel (23/30). Occasional problems, such as nausea (22/28), have arisen due to family presence. The interviewed physicians in charge think that health care professionals' agreement rates for parental presence decrease significantly with the increasing invasiveness of the procedure. Two hospitals have a working group and one a specific protocol to address parental presence.

Parental presence during IP is limited in Spanish PED, due to parental anxiety and is detrimental to the success of the procedure. Physicians and nurses disagree with family presence, especially during the most invasive procedures.