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Pandemic planning : Developing a triage framework for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Daboval, Thierry; Williams, Connie; Albersheim, Susan

Abstract

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has not had a direct impact on neonates so far, it has raised concerns about resource distribution and showed that planning is required before the next crisis or pandemic. Resource allocation must consider unique Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) attributes, including physical space and equipment that may not be transferable to older populations, unique skills of NICU staff, inherent uncertainty in prognosis both antenatally and postnatally, possible biases against neonates, and the future pandemic disease’s possible impact on neonates. We identified the need for a validated Neonatal Severity of Illness Prognostic Score to guide triage decisions. Based on this score, triage decisions are the responsibility of an informed triage team not involved in direct patient care. Support for the distress experienced by parents and staff is needed. This paper presents essential considerations in developing a practical framework for resources and triage in the NICU before, during and after a pandemic.

Item Metadata

Title
Pandemic planning : Developing a triage framework for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Creator
Daboval, Thierry; Williams, Connie; Albersheim, Susan
Contributor
Children's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.); Women's Hospital (Vancouver, B.C.)
Publisher
Elsevier
Date Issued
2023-08-02
Description
Although the Covid-19 pandemic has not had a direct impact on neonates so far, it has raised concerns about resource distribution and showed that planning is required before the next crisis or pandemic. Resource allocation must consider unique Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) attributes, including physical space and equipment that may not be transferable to older populations, unique skills of NICU staff, inherent uncertainty in prognosis both antenatally and postnatally, possible biases against neonates, and the future pandemic disease’s possible impact on neonates. We identified the need for a validated Neonatal Severity of Illness Prognostic Score to guide triage decisions. Based on this score, triage decisions are the responsibility of an informed triage team not involved in direct patient care. Support for the distress experienced by parents and staff is needed. This paper presents essential considerations in developing a practical framework for resources and triage in the NICU before, during and after a pandemic.
Subject
Neonatal intensive care unit; Neonates; Pandemic; Resource allocation; Triage
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2023-10-19
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0437236
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/86211
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Non UBC; Pediatrics, Department of
Citation
Daboval, T., Williams, C., & Albersheim, S. G. (2022). Pandemic planning: Developing a triage framework for neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatrics and Neonatology, 63(1), 5-12.
Publisher DOI
10.1016/j.pedneo.2021.06.014
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International