A futuristic medical pod transporting a child through a data vortex, symbolizing pediatric interfacility transport.

Is Your Child's Transport Team Prepared? How Early Warning Systems Can Help

Nico Varela in Health & Wellness December 2025 • 4 min read.

"A new study reveals the importance of early warning systems in pediatric interfacility transport, ensuring the right interventions at the right time."

When a child needs to be transferred from one hospital to another, it's a race against time. These transports, known as interfacility transports, require specialized teams and equipment to ensure the child's safety and well-being. But how do these teams know what to expect before they even arrive?

A recent study published in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine sheds light on the potential of Bedside Pediatric Early Warning Systems (BedsidePEWS) as a remote assessment tool. This system, already validated for measuring illness severity in inpatient settings, could be the key to optimizing care during these critical transports.

The study hypothesized that BedsidePEWS scores are associated with the need for intervention during the peritransport period and patient disposition. By evaluating this connection, the researchers aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pediatric interfacility transport.

Decoding BedsidePEWS: A Score That Could Save Lives

A futuristic medical pod transporting a child through a data vortex, symbolizing pediatric interfacility transport.

The BedsidePEWS score is a seven-component physiological assessment that helps predict clinical deterioration in children. It's designed to be used by healthcare professionals to identify potential problems early on, allowing for timely interventions. The score takes into account vital signs and other key indicators to provide a comprehensive picture of a child's condition.

Researchers retrospectively reviewed the cases of 564 children transported by a regional pediatric team over six months. They calculated BedsidePEWS scores at three critical points: the initial triage phone call, the transport team's arrival, and the transfer of care to the hospital team. The primary outcome they measured was the receipt of significant intervention during the peritransport period, as well as the final destination of the child (ICU, ward, or emergency department).

Higher scores, more intervention: Children who received interventions during transport had significantly higher BedsidePEWS scores compared to those who didn't (8 vs. 2).
Destination matters: Children transferred to the PICU had the highest scores (6), followed by those admitted to the ward (3) and the emergency department (2).
Early warning: The BedsidePEWS score at the time of the initial referral was a strong indicator of subsequent peritransport intervention and the ultimate transfer destination.

The study also found that for every one-point increase in the BedsidePEWS score, the risk of needing any intervention increased by 36%. This highlights the importance of even small changes in the score as a warning sign of potential trouble.

The Future of Pediatric Transport: Proactive, Prepared, and Patient-Centered

This study provides compelling evidence that the BedsidePEWS score can be a valuable tool for assessing the severity of illness in children requiring interfacility transport. By using this score, transport teams can better anticipate the needs of their patients and ensure they have the right resources and expertise on board.

While the study has some limitations, including its retrospective nature and single-center design, it opens the door for future research and implementation of BedsidePEWS in pediatric transport. Further multicenter studies are needed to prospectively validate the score and determine its impact on patient outcomes.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a more proactive and prepared transport system that puts the patient's needs first. By embracing early warning systems and other innovative tools, we can ensure that every child receives the best possible care during these critical moments.

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This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1097/pcc.0000000000001722, Alternate LINK

Title: Correlation Of Bedside Pediatric Early Warning System Score To Interventions During Peritransport Period

Subject: Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine

Journal: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)

Authors: Christopher K. Page-Goertz, Mahua Dasgupta, Raymond G. Hoffmann, Christopher Parshuram, Michael L. Forbes, Michael T. Meyer

Published: 2018-11-01

Everything You Need To Know

What are Bedside Pediatric Early Warning Systems (BedsidePEWS) and why are they important?

Bedside Pediatric Early Warning Systems (BedsidePEWS) are scoring systems designed to assess a child's physiological state. They are used by healthcare professionals to predict clinical deterioration by monitoring vital signs and other key indicators. This helps in identifying potential problems early, allowing for timely interventions during interfacility transport. These systems are important because during the transport of a child from one hospital to another, time is critical. Being able to predict the needs of the child prior to the team's arrival, and during the process itself, is critical to providing effective care.

What are interfacility transports, and why is this topic important?

Interfacility transports are critical because they involve the movement of a child from one hospital to another. These transports require specialized teams and equipment. The goal is to ensure the child's safety and well-being during the transfer. The study focuses on how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these transports. Using a system such as BedsidePEWS during these transports can help anticipate the needs of the patients and ensure the right resources are available.

When is the BedsidePEWS score calculated, and what does it entail?

The BedsidePEWS score is calculated at several points: the initial triage phone call, the transport team's arrival, and the transfer of care to the hospital team. It is a seven-component physiological assessment that takes into account vital signs and other key indicators. Higher scores indicate a greater need for intervention. This provides a comprehensive picture of a child's condition during the critical interfacility transport phase, allowing teams to prepare accordingly.

What were some of the key findings of the study regarding BedsidePEWS scores?

The study found that children who received interventions during transport had significantly higher BedsidePEWS scores than those who did not. Furthermore, the final destination of the child was correlated to the BedsidePEWS scores. Children transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) had the highest scores, followed by those admitted to the ward and the emergency department. This data shows that the BedsidePEWS score at the initial referral was a strong indicator of subsequent peritransport intervention and the ultimate transfer destination.

How does the BedsidePEWS score help transport teams?

The study revealed that a one-point increase in the BedsidePEWS score increased the risk of needing any intervention by 36%. This finding emphasizes the sensitivity of BedsidePEWS and how critical it is for transport teams to take note of small changes in the score. This highlights the importance of BedsidePEWS as an early warning system during pediatric interfacility transport, providing valuable information for better patient care during this crucial time.