Analysis of Pediatric Patient Transfer: Patient Characteristics and Distribution of Departments after Admission

Objective: This study aims to analyze the characteristics of inter-hospital transferred pediatric patients and the distribution of departments receiving these patients from January 1, 2024, to October 31, 2024, in order to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the transfer services and to identify potential areas for improvement. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study, reviewing 731 patient transfers conducted by the pediatric transfer team of the transfer center during the aforementioned period. Data were sourced from electronic medical records of inter-hospital transfers. We analyzed the hospital level of demand for transfer patients, their place of origin, age distribution, diagnostic classification, need for respiratory support, and distribution of admitting departments. Results: The study results showed that the majority of transferred patients came from tertiary hospitals (65.94%), with urban patients accounting for 37.21%, and a smaller proportion of patients from outside the province (5.47%). The age distribution was highest for patients aged 1 month to 1 year (37.94%), with respiratory issues being the most common reason for transfer (31.74%). In terms of respiratory support, patients on invasive ventilation accounted for 23.94%, those on non-invasive ventilation accounted for 8.76%, patients on oxygen therapy accounted for 36.53%, and patients without the need for respiratory support accounted for 30.78%. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) was the primary admitting department (52.53%), followed by the Department of Pediatrics (20.52%) and the Department of Pediatric Surgery (10.53%). Conclusion: Our study revealed the characteristics of transfer demand for pediatric patients requiring inter-hospital transfers. The results highlighted the high demand for transfer services from tertiary hospitals and urban patients from within the province, as well as the reliance of patients with respiratory issues and infants on high-quality, comprehensive medical care and nursing provided by national-level children’s medical centers. These findings are significant for optimizing the allocation of transfer resources and improving service quality.