Physiological variability during ground transport of newborns

The purpose of this study was to describe the newborn's response to the transport process. Fifteen premature newborns (< 38 weeks gestation) who required ambulance transport to a newborn intensive care unit (NBICU) were admitted to this descriptive study. Physiological measurements, including heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, transcutaneous CO2, and PO2, were obtained during the transport. The measurements were obtained at five set points during the transport: (a) prior to transport at the referral hospital, (b) immediately after loading the isolette into the ambulance, (c) every 5 minutes during the transport, (d) immediately after unloading the isolette at the receiving hospital, and (e) upon arrival in the receiving NBICU. Although there was variability in all physiological measurements during the transport process, no pattern in the variability was seen. The newborns who were intubated had higher heart and respiratory rates than the nonintubated newborns during transport. The sedated newborns had increased heart and respiratory rates along with tcCO2 that increased during the transport process.