Intrahospital transport of neuro ICU patients.

Neuroscience intensive care unit (NICU) patients are frequently transported out of the critical care environment for diagnostic and interventional procedures. Four hundred and seventy-one such transports from seventeen clinical centers were studied to identify the characteristics of intrahospital transport. Data collected included the destination and duration of transport, number and type of personnel involved, changes in monitoring and treatment during transport, adverse patient responses and the impact on patients left in the unit. Differences between transports characterized as elective or emergent in nature were noted. Results validate that intrahospital transport of NICU patients is both time and labor intensive. The study also suggests that the optimal process for safe and efficient transport is yet to be designed.