Characteristics and outcomes of interhospital transfers from level II to level I pediatric intensive care units

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the characteristics, resource utilization, and outcomes for transfer admissions from level II to level I pediatric intensive care units (PICUs). DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: A 16-bed level I PICU in a tertiary care children's hospital. PATIENTS: All transfer admissions from level II PICUs from January 1, 1997, through December 31, 2003; admissions for cardiac surgery were excluded. Patient characteristics, resource utilization, and outcomes were described and then compared across predefined strata (low 30%) of predicted probability of death. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 168 transfer admissions, 45%, 30%, and 25% were in the low, modera..