Patient care during interfacility transport: a narrative review of managing diverse disease states

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Journal

World journal of emergency medicine

Volume

14

Issue

1

DOI

10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2023.009

Keywords

Critically ill patients; Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; Hypertensive emergencies; Interfacility transfer; Interhospital transfer; Obstetric emergencies

Abstract

BACKGROUND: When critically ill patients require specialized treatment that exceeds the capability of the index hospitals, patients are frequently transferred to a tertiary or quaternary hospital for a higher level of care. Therefore, appropriate and efficient care for patients during the process of transport between two hospitals (interfacility transfer) is an essential part of patient care. While medical adverse events may occur during the interfacility transfer process, there have not been evidence-based guidelines regarding the equipment or the practice for patient care during transport. METHODS: We conducted searches from the PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), and Scopus databases up to June 2022. Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts for eligibility. Studies that were not in the English language and did not involve critically ill patients were excluded. RESULTS: The search identified 75 articles, and we included 48 studies for our narrative review. Most studies were observational studies. CONCLUSION: The review provided the current evidence-based management of diverse disease states during the interfacility transfer process, such as proning positioning for respiratory failure, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), obstetric emergencies, and hypertensive emergencies (aortic dissection and spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage).

Department

Emergency Medicine

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