Photo Credit: Fly View Productions

The following is a summary of “Stay Put or Move Out? A Review of Acute Respiratory Illness Transfers Out of a Peripheral Centre and Their Characteristics: A Retrospective Cohort Study,” published in the March 2025 issue of Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health by Pho et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study on children transferred from a peripheral center for acute respiratory illness, exploring their characteristics and potential for decentralizing pediatric high-dependency care. 

They conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study on children transferred from a peripheral center with asthma, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, or pleural effusion. Patient characteristics and management were recorded from medical records, classifying transfers as ‘within scope’ or ‘outside scope’ of a peripheral pediatric center. Multivariate regression was used to identify predictors of within-scope transfers. 

The results showed 852 transfers between September 2015 and September 2023, with 165 (19.4%) meeting the inclusion criteria and 93 (56.4%) being within scope. Preschool asthma, bronchiolitis, high-flow nasal prong therapy (HFNP) use, and emergency department transfers were more common in within-scope cases. HFNP was used in 103 (62.4%) patients, including 74 (79.6%) within scope. Preschool asthma (aOR 17.1, 95% CI 2.1–142.2, P=0.01) and HFNP pre-transfer (aOR 5.4, 95% CI 2.2–13.2, P<0.0001) predicted within scope transfers. 

Investigators identified a cohort that could benefit from decentralizing pediatric high-dependency care, particularly children with preschool asthma and those transferred for HFNP monitoring. They highlighted the need to define scope, guidelines, training, staffing, resourcing, and safety netting systems. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpc.70033