Association of intensive care unit or paediatric intensive care unit admissions with the method of transporting patients: a multicentre retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Reports regarding transportation methods of severely critical patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) or paediatric ICU (PICU) are limited. In an attempt to address this research gap, this study aimed to test the hypothesis that prognosis is worse in patients transported by family members. METHODS: This multicentre study collected data from the Japanese Registry of Paediatric Acute Care database. Data concerning patients aged ≤16 years admitted to a participating hospital ICU or PICU and their transportation method to the hospital were extracted and divided into two groups: transported by family and transported by emergency medical services (EMS). RESULTS: Of the 2963 patients who met the criteria, 871 (29.4%) were transported by family and 2092 (70.6%) were transported by EMS. Significantly more patients with chronic conditions (551 patients, 63.3% vs. 845 patients, 40.4%; p < 0.01) or respiratory failure (414 patients, 47.5% vs. 455 patients, 21.7%; p < 0.01) were admitted to the ICU or PICU in the family transport group. There was no significant difference in survival rate between EMS and family transport group, matched by PIM2, chronic condition status and transport distance (OR:1.17, 95%CI:0.39–3.47, p = 0.78). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that the transportation method does not affect the survival rate of paediatric patients. The proportion of patients with chronic conditions or those admitted because of respiratory failure was higher in the family transport group than in the EMS group. Therefore, as these patients are more likely to be admitted to the ICU or PICU, it is important to provide prompt respiratory care and medical interventions to achieve the best outcomes.