Handover and transport of critically ill children: An integrative review

Area of Science:

• Pediatric critical care medicine
• Patient safety
• Healthcare communication

Background:

• Handover and transport of critically ill pediatric patients involve multiple disciplines.
• Poor communication is a significant factor in adverse events during patient transfers.
• Human factors critically influence the safety and efficacy of handover and transport processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize existing research on pediatric patient handover and transport.
• To identify knowledge gaps in the current literature.
• To guide future research directions in this critical care area.

Main Methods:

• An integrative literature review was conducted.
• Forty research studies were systematically analyzed.
• Key themes related to patient outcomes and communication were extracted.

Main Results:

• Standardized communication and specialized teams/teamwork correlate with improved patient outcomes.
• A significant knowledge gap exists regarding the transport of critically ill pediatric patients from the emergency room to the intensive care unit.
• Best practices for handover and transport within specific pediatric subsets (neonate, toddler, school-aged, adolescent) are not well-defined.

Conclusions:

• A combined approach utilizing specialized teams and standardized communication enhances pediatric patient handover and transport outcomes.
• Further research is needed on interprofessional handover practices.
• Investigating specific pediatric age groups and emergency room to intensive care unit transfers requires attention.