[Recommendations for neonatal transport]

Abstract

During pregnancy, it is not always possible to identify maternal or foetal risk factors. Infants requiring specialised medical care are not always born in centres providing intensive care and will need to be transferred to a referral centre where intensive care can be provided. Therefore Neonatal Transport needs to be considered as part of the organisation of perinatal health care. The aim of Neonatal Transport is to transfer a newborn infant requiring intensive care to a centre where specialised resources and experience can be provided for the appropriate assessment and continuing treatment of a sick newborn infant. Intrauterine transfer is the ideal mode of transport when the birth of an infant with risk factors is diagnosed. Unfortunately, not all problems can be detected in advance with enough time to safely transfer a pregnant woman. Around 30- 50% of risk factors will be diagnosed during labour or soon after birth. Therefore, it is important to have the knowledge and resources to resuscitate and stabilise a newborn infant, as well as a specialised neonatal transport system. With this specialised transport it is possible to transfer newly born infants with the same level of care that they would receive if they had been born in a referral hospital, without increasing their risks or affecting the wellbeing of the newborn. The Standards Committee of the Spanish Society of Neonatology reviewed and updated recommendations for intrauterine transport and indications for neonatal transfer. They also reviewed organisational and logistic factors involved with performing neonatal transport. The Committee review included the type of personnel who should be involved; communication between referral and receiving hospitals; documentation; mode of transport; equipment to stabilise newly born infants; management during transfer, and admission at the referral hospital.

Keywords: High risk newborn; Intrauterine transport; Neonatal transport; Newborn; Recién nacido; Recién nacido de alto riesgo; Transporte intraútero; Transporte neonatal.