National preparedness survey of pediatric intensive care units with simulation centers during the coronavirus pandemic

• 作者: Anna M Bona Elisa J Sarmiento Isabel T Gross Kamal Abulebda Lauren E Falvo Marc A Auerbach Patrick G Hughes Paul R Barach Rami A Ahmed
• 来源期刊: 世界重症医学杂志
• 学科: 医学
• 关键词: COVID-19 Pediatric intensive care unit SIMULATION Practice innovations Training PREPAREDNESS
• 年，卷（期）: 2020,（5）
• 页码范围: 74-87
• 页数: 14页
• 分类号: R72

摘要

The coronavirus disease pandemic caught many pediatric hospitals unpreparedand has forced pediatric healthcare systems to scramble as they examine and planfor the optimal allocation of medical resources for the highest priority patients.There is limited data describing pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) preparednessand their health worker protections.AIMTo describe the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) preparedness effortsamong a set of PICUs within a simulation-based network nationwide.METHODS A cross-sectional multi-center national survey of PICU medical director(s) fromchildren’s hospitals across the United States. The questionnaire was developedand reviewed by physicians with expertise in pediatric critical care, disasterreadiness, human factors, and survey development. Thirty-five children’shospitals were identified for recruitment through a long-established nationalresearch network. The questions focused on six themes: (1) PICU and medicaldirector demographics;(2) Pediatric patient flow during the pandemic;(3)Changes to the staffing models related to the pandemic;(4) Use of personalprotective equipment (PPE);(5) Changes in clinical practice and innovations;and(6) Current modalities of training including simulation.RESULTSWe report on survey responses from 22 of 35 PICUs (63%). The majority of PICUswere located within children’s hospitals (87%). All PICUs cared for pediatricpatients with COVID-19 at the time of the survey. The majority of PICUs (83.4%)witnessed decreases in non-COVID-19 patients, 43% had COVID-19 dedicatedunits, and 74.6% pivoted to accept adult COVID-19 patients. All PICUsimplemented changes to their staffing models with the most common changesbeing changes in COVID-19 patient room assignment in 50% of surveyed PICUsand introducing remote patient monitoring in 36% of the PICU units. Ninety-fivepercent of PICUs conducted training for donning and doffing of enhanced PPE.Even 6 months into the pandemic, one-third of PICUs across the United Statesreported shortages in PPE. The