Transitions to and from the acute inpatient care setting for children with life-threatening illness.

Children with life-threatening illnesses (LTIs) are hospitalized more often and spend more days in the hospital than children without LTIs. Hospitalizations may be associated with changes in health status of children with LTIs and thus alter their care needs significantly. Transitional care is particularly relevant for this population. Pediatric palliative care clinicians and teams are well-positioned to improve transitional care of children with LTIs by facilitating communication between clinicians and educating clinicians about issues related to children with LTIs.