Transport stabilization times for neonatal and pediatric patients prior to interfacility transfer.

The stabilization times for 2863 neonatal and pediatric interfacility transports are reported. Appropriate stabilization of the sick neonate and pediatric patients prior to transfer is considered essential to reduce the adverse events that may otherwise occur during the transfer process. The median stabilization time for a neonate was 80 minutes, and it was 45 minutes for a pediatric patient. These times can be used by other transport systems to evaluate their services through quality assurance, as well as for staff and budgeting purposes. New interventions that reduce stabilization times can be evaluated with these times as a reference.