The intra-hospital transport of critically ill patient : creation of a check-list of planning

ABSTRACT: Introduction: the intra-hospital transport of critically ill patients is a frequent event but not risk-free. In Italy, this activity is regulated by guideli- nes drawn up by the Italian Society of Anesthesia Analgesia Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI). The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the literature and propose/test a tool to standardize procedures in order to reduce risks and monitor adverse events. Materials and methods: it was performed a literature search in the main database. Then, a checklist and an accident’s card were created and distributed in the ICU and Neurosurgery ICU of San Gerardo’s Hospital in Monza and ICU/ Post Surgery of Civil Hospital in Legnano (MI). Results: we have collected 54 check lists. The data were stratified by department. Accidents occurred during about 50% of intra-hospital tran- sports. The main adverse events were related to clinical deterioration, technical issues and problems within the team. The most common com- plications affected mobilization (42.59%) and clinical worsening (37.04%). Adverse events were not found to be correlated with the severity of the patient being transported. Discussion: the results obtained are similar to those found in the literature. In studies is emphasized that careful preparation of the patient and a good coordination among operators reduce the occurrence of accidents. Conclusions: each hospital should develop an internal protocol for transport. The checklist was useful and easy to compile for the standardiza- tion of the procedure. It helps to plan the transport, thus reducing the possible adverse events.