title: Cross-sectional Survey of Canadian Pediatric Critical Care Transport.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to better understand the unique aspects of pediatric critical care transport programs across Canada by characterizing the current workforce of each transport program.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional questionnaire was sent to the 13 medical directors of Canada's pediatric critical care transport teams, and to 2 nonhospital-affiliated transport services. If a children's hospital did not have a dedicated team for pediatric transport, the regional transport team providing this service was identified.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight of the 13 pediatric intensive care units surveyed have unit-based pediatric transport teams. The median annual transport volume for the 8 hospital-based teams was 371 (range, 45-2300) with a total of 5686 patients being transported annually. Among patients transported by the 8 teams, 45% (2579 patients) were pediatric patients (older than 28 days and younger than 18 years) and 40% (1022 patients) of the pediatric patients were admitted to the pediatric intensive care units. Eighty-eight percent of the responding teams also transported neonates (older than 28 days), and 38% transported premature infants.A team composition of registered nurse-respiratory therapist-physician was used by 6/13 teams (75%); however, it accounted for only a small proportion of the transports for most of the teams (median, 2%; range, 2%-100%).The average transport time from dispatch (from team home site) to arrival at receiving facility was reported by 6 teams, and has a median of 195 minutes (range, 90-360 minutes). The median distance from home site to the farthest referral site in the catchment area was 700 km (range, 15-2500 km).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first Canadian nationwide study of pediatric critical care transport programs. It revealed a complexity and variability in transport team demographics, transport volume, team composition, and decision-making process.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gunz
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, and.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Caen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003422:Critical Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*