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CompletedNCT06512805Updated Jan 17, 2025

Implementation Study of Intra-hospital Transfer of Pediatric Inpatients

An interventional study of Routine transport and Post-guideline transfer in Implementation Science and Transportation of Patients, sponsored by Children's Hospital of Fudan University. Completed at 1 site in China. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-01-17.

Sponsored by Children's Hospital of Fudan University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
214
Allocation
Non-randomized
Sex
All
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Study summary

This study implemented the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for In-hospital Transfer of Pediatric Inpatients (2023 edition)" released by the research team in June 2023 in real clinical settings. It employed an effectiveness-implementation hybrid research design to evaluate the process and effects of the guidelines in clinical practice. The research objectives include the following aspects:

Identifying barriers to the implementation of the guidelines in clinical practice.

Constructing implementation strategies to facilitate the application of the guidelines based on identified barriers.

Evaluating the impact of implementation strategies on clinical healthcare personnel and the clinical environment.

Assessing the effect of in-hospital transfer of pediatric inpatients based on the guidelines on reducing adverse events related to in-hospital transfers and other clinical outcomes.

Participants will:

In the control group, healthcare personnel conduct transfers according to the routine management and working mode of the emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

In the intervention group, nurses receive implementation strategies developed during the preparation phase. These strategies are aimed at modifying the behavior of healthcare personnel through implementation, thereby conducting in-hospital transfers for pediatric patients based on the guidelines.

Read the detailed description

The demand for in-hospital transfers is high, and their occurrence rate is frequent, making them an unavoidable routine in hospital settings due to emergency patients, postoperative patients, and those highly dependent on specialized medical equipment. Research statistics indicate that out of 371 patients admitted to the neonatal ward, there were 1402 transfers, while 506 emergency department patients accounted for 2715 in-hospital transfers. Additionally, 43.5% of patients in the intensive care unit required repeated transfers, with 45% of them needing two or more transfers. According to a systematic review by Haydar et al., adverse event rates during in-hospital pediatric transfers ranged from 0.11% to 75%, with the most common events being hypoxemia (13%-21%), hypotension (3.3%-37.5%), chest compressions (7.5%), dislodgement/accidental removal of catheters (3.8%), and interruption of vasopressor infusions (5%). Therefore, ensuring the safety of in-hospital transfers for pediatric patients is a crucial aspect of healthcare workers' responsibilities. Standardizing the in-hospital transfer process to minimize adverse events is vital for the well-being of pediatric patients.

Thus, this study focuses on in-hospital transfers of pediatric patients, aiming to identify current clinical issues and implement strategies based on the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for In-hospital Transfer of Pediatric Inpatients (2023 edition)." Conducted at the Children's Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, the research aims to develop implementation strategies and evaluate the impact of evidence and implementation strategies on pediatric inpatients, the evidence-based practice behavior of clinical healthcare personnel, and changes in the hospital organizational environment. The goal is to alter current clinical practices, standardize the in-hospital transfer process for pediatric patients, and further reduce adverse events associated with in-hospital transfers.

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Conditions studied

  • Implementation Science
  • Transportation of Patients
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In context

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital of Fudan University is the lead sponsor of 266 studies on the registry; 95 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
Child (0–17), Adult (18–64), Older adult (65+)
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Those who had worked in the study site for more than 1 year;

    • Those who can carry out intra-hospital transport independently;

      • Staff on duty during the study period

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those who have not obtained a practicing qualification certificate;

    • Refusal to participate in the study;
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Sequential assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
214 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Routine transport group

    During the period from April 2024 to June 2024, pediatric patients transferred from the emergency department to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and from the PICU to general wards will serve as the control group. They will undergo the hospital's current in-hospital transfer process.

    Behavioral: Routine transport

  • Experimental
    Post-guideline transfer group

    During the period from September 2024 to November 2024, pediatric patients transferred from the emergency department to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and from the PICU to general wards will undergo the in-hospital transfer process based on the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for In-hospital Transfer of Pediatric Inpatients (2023 edition)."

    Behavioral: Post-guideline transfer

Interventions

  • BehavioralRoutine transport

    1. Before the transfer of the patient: ① The doctor determines the destination of the patient based on the patient's condition and issues transfer orders. * The responsible nurse assesses the patient's consciousness, circulation, respiration, etc., and fills out the "Transfer Patient Handover Record" in the transferring department section. * The responsible nurse prepares the equipment, medications, and patient's belongings required for the transfer. 2. During the transfer: Monitor the patient's vital signs. 3. Upon arrival at the receiving department: * Place the patient with the receiving department nurse. ② Verbally hand over the patient's condition to the receiving department nurse and hand over the patient's belongings and medications. * The responsible nurse of the receiving department completes the remaining part of the "Transfer Patient Handover Record."

  • BehavioralPost-guideline transfer

    In the intervention group, nurses receive implementation strategies developed during the preparation phase. These strategies aim to modify the behavior of healthcare personnel through implementation, thereby conducting evidence-based (based on the guidelines) in-hospital transfer interventions for pediatric patients.The interventions received by pediatric patients are derived from the recommended practices evaluated for evidence availability in the guidelines. These include specific transfer procedures, the "Transfer Risk Level Classification Criteria," "Personnel Qualifications, Equipment, and Medications Allocation Based on Transfer Risk Level," "Transfer Preparation Checklist," and "Transfer Handover Checklist 2.0."

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The compliance of healthcare personnel with evidence-based practice.

    The compliance of each review indicator = (Number of times the indicator was correctly executed / Total number of times the indicator was reviewed) \* 100%.

    Time frame: Three months before and three months after the intervention

  2. Intra-hospital transfer time

    The in-hospital transfer time = Time when the transfer team leaves the receiving department - Time when the transfer team leaves the transferring department.

    Time frame: Three months before and three months after the intervention

  3. Bedside handover time

    Departure time of the transfer team from the receiving department - Start time of the handover.

    Time frame: Three months before and three months after the intervention

  4. Completeness of information handover

    The ratio of completed items in the handover checklist to the total items in the handover checklist

    Time frame: Three months before and three months after the intervention

  5. Rate of adverse events during in-hospital transfers

    Adverse event rate = Number of patients experiencing adverse events during transfer / Total number of patients transferred during the study period

    Time frame: Three months before and three months after the intervention

  6. Healthcare personnel's knowledge level of in-hospital transfers

    "In-hospital Transfer Knowledge Level Questionnaire for Healthcare Personnel"

    Time frame: One month before and one month after the intervention

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Study locations

1 site
  • Children's Hospital of Fudan University
    Shanghai, 201102, China
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References and documents

Publications

  • Li Y, Yang Y, Hu J, Wang W, Jin Y, Shen W, Zhang Y, Zhou Y, Cheng Y, Latour JM, Gu Y. Effect of implementing an evidence-based clinical practice intra-hospital transport guideline for hospitalized children: a type III hybrid implementation-effectiveness study. Implement Sci Commun. 2026 Jun 6. doi: 10.1186/s43058-026-00962-7. Online ahead of print. PubMed 42251453 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 17, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06512805
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 22, 2024
Start date
Apr 1, 2024
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2024
Completion
Dec 31, 2024
Last update
Jan 17, 2025

Study contacts

Ying Gu, Doctor
study director · Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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