Interhospital transport of critically ill patients: A prospective observational study of patient and transport characteristics

Background The cohort of critically ill patients transported between Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Norway has not been studied previously. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of patients and transports for different types of interhospital transfers and explore whether there were differences in morbidity and mortality between the different transfer categories and the general Norwegian ICU population. Methods All transports of critically ill adult patients transferred between two geographically different Intensive Care Units during a one‐year period were registered. Patient and transport data were obtained from The Norwegian Intensive Care Registry, The Norwegian Cause of Death Registry, the hospital Electronic Patient Journal, the Air Ambulance Journal System, and the Emergency Medical Communication Centre database. Results 821 transports of 788 surgical and medical patients were enrolled. Simplified Acute Physiology Scores (SAPSII) were 43, 36 and 38 for urgent secondary transport, non‐urgent secondary transport and return transfers, respectively. These were comparable to nationwide SAPSII scores that were 40 for university hospitals and 34 for local hospitals during the same time period. The return transfers had a median SOFA‐score of 4.7 and 53% were mechanically ventilated. Only 33% of return transfers were performed by established teams. Conclusion Intensive care patients transferred between ICUs are as critically ill as the rest of the ICU population, with a similar morbidity and mortality. The return transfers of ICU‐patients appear under‐triaged compared to secondary transports in terms of allocated resources.