Evidence-based approach for selecting human resources in urgent transport

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Critical Care
• Healthcare Logistics

Background:

• Interhospital transport is vital for specialized pediatric care but presents significant logistical and clinical challenges.
• Existing tools for predicting risks in pediatric transport (PT) are limited, hindering resource optimization and patient safety.
• A standardized triage scale is needed to improve the management of pediatric interhospital transfers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the SCOPETAS scale for selecting urgent pediatric interhospital transport teams.
• To compare healthcare professional judgment with SCOPETAS recommendations for transport team selection.
• To assess the agreement between professional choices and SCOPETAS-proposed teams.

Main Methods:

• An observational cohort study analyzed 150 urgent pediatric transport cases (1 month-14 years) over one year.
• The SCOPETAS scale was compared against the actual transport team selection, considered the gold standard.
• Agreement between professional choices and scale recommendations was assessed using weighted kappa.

Main Results:

• The SCOPETAS scale demonstrated good agreement (weighted kappa = 0.68) with expert transport team selection.
• Greater discordance was observed in selecting emergency medical technician (EMT) + nursing teams.
• The SCOPETAS scale showed potential for cost reduction and optimized staff availability in pediatric transport.

Conclusions:

• SCOPETAS is a practical and user-friendly tool for standardizing pediatric transport and optimizing resource utilization.
• The scale aids in consistent and efficient decision-making for interhospital pediatric transfers.
• Further research is recommended to include all pediatric age groups and diverse geographical regions.