The effect on intra-hospital transfer success of checklist in the pediatric emergency department: An interventional...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• In-hospital transfers of pediatric patients from emergency departments are common and carry risks of adverse events.
• Standardized protocols are crucial for managing these high-risk transitions effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an in-hospital transfer checklist on the success of pediatric patient transfers from the emergency department.
• To assess the checklist's effect on transfer time and the incidence of adverse events.

Main Methods:

• An interventional observational study was conducted in a pediatric emergency department.
• Retrospective data from a control group (n=120) were compared with data from an intervention group (n=120) using a newly developed transfer checklist.
• Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS to compare outcomes between groups.

Main Results:

• The median in-hospital transfer time for pediatric emergency department patients decreased from 12 to 10 minutes after checklist implementation (p < 0.05).
• The rate of adverse events significantly decreased from 46.7% to 10.8% with checklist use (p > 0.05).
• The intervention group demonstrated a significantly lower impact score for clinical and non-clinical adverse events compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Transferring pediatric patients from emergency departments requires careful attention to reduce adverse events.
• The use of trained personnel, appropriate equipment, standardized protocols, and checklists is vital for minimizing adverse events during pediatric patient transfers.