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Pediatric Triage and Allocation of Critical Care Resources During Disaster: Northwest Provider Opinion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2014

Erin Margaret Johnson ,
Douglas S. Diekema ,
Mithya Lewis-Newby  and
Mary A. King
Erin Margaret Johnson*
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaUSA
Douglas S. Diekema
Affiliation:
Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle, WashingtonUSA Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WashingtonUSA University of Washington, Seattle, WashingtonUSA
Mithya Lewis-Newby
Affiliation:
Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle, WashingtonUSA
Mary A. King
Affiliation:
Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WashingtonUSA
*
Correspondence: Erin Margaret Johnson Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Faculty Pavillion Building 4401 Penn Ave Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15224-1342 USA E-mail erin.johnson3@chp.edu
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Abstract

Introduction

Following Hurricane Katrina and the 2009 H1N1 epidemic, pediatric critical care clinicians recognized the urgent need for a standardized pediatric triage/allocation system. This study collected regional provider opinion on issues of care allocation and pediatric triage in a disaster/pandemic setting.

Methods

This study was a cross-sectional survey of United States (US) health care providers and public health workers who demonstrated interest in critical care and/or disaster care medicine by attending a Northwest regional pediatric critical care symposium on disaster preparation, held in 2012 at Seattle Children's Hospital in Seattle, Washington (USA). The survey employed an electronic audience response system and included demographic, ethical, and logistical questions. Differences in opinions between respondents grouped by professions and work locations were evaluated using a chi-square test.

Results

One hundred and twelve (97%) of 116 total attendees responded to at least one question; however, four of these responders failed to answer every question. Sixty-two (55%) responders were nurses, 29 (26%) physicians, and 21 (19%) other occupations. Fifty-five (51%) responders worked in pediatric hospitals vs 53 (49%) in other locations. Sixty-three (58%) of 108 successful responses prioritized children predicted to have a good neuro-cognitive outcome. Seventy-one (68%) agreed that no pediatric age group should be prioritized. Twenty-two (43%) of providers working in non-pediatric hospital locations preferred a triage system based on an objective score alone vs 14 (26%) of those in pediatric hospitals (P = .038).

JohnsonEM, DiekemaDS, Lewis-NewbyM, KingMA. Pediatric Triage and Allocation of Critical Care Resources During Disaster: Northwest Provider Opinion. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(5):1-6.

Keywords

disaster preparationethicspediatricsresource allocationtriage
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 29 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 455 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2014 

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