The main indications for interhospital neonatal transports are radiographic studies (e.g., magnet resonance imaging) and surgical interventions. Specialized neonatal transport teams need to be skilled in patient care, communication, and equipment management and extensively trained in resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of critically ill infants. However, there is increasing evidence that clinical assessment of heart rate, color, or chest wall movements is imprecise and can be misleading even in experienced hands. The aim of the paper was to review the current evidence on clinical monitoring equipment during interhospital neonatal transport. 1. Introduction The main indications for interhospital neonatal transports are radiographic studies (e.g., magnet resonance imaging) and surgical interventions. Specialized neonatal transport teams need to be skilled in patient care, communication, and equipment management and extensively trained in resuscitation, stabilization, and transport of critically ill infants [1]. Clinical monitoring equipment routinely used in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may not function optimally under transport conditions [2]. Both the critically ill neonate and the neonatal transport team are exposed to mechanical stressors (e.g., shock, vibration, and noise) making clinical assessment during transport almost impossible [1, 3–9]. However, most of the equipment routinely used in the NICU to support clinical management decisions has not been evaluated in the transport environment. The aim of the paper was to review the current evidence on clinical monitoring equipment during interhospital neonatal transport. 2. Search Strategies The aim of this paper is to review the available literature about monitoring during interhospital neonatal transport. We reviewed books, resuscitation manuals, and articles from 1950 to the present with the search terms “infant,” “newborn,” “neonatal transport,” “pulse oximetry,” “heart rate,” “respiratory function tests,” “carbon dioxide,” “temperature,” “blood pressure monitoring” and “transport scores.” The full search strategy for PubMed is detailed in the Appendix. 3. Pulse Oximetry and Heart Rate Neonatal transports carried out overnight make the assessment of an infant’s color challenging. In addition, incubators are covered to decrease environmental impact, which blocks light inside the incubator making color assessment challenging. Furthermore, judging an infants color to determine oxygen saturation is imprecise [10]. During neonatal transport, vibration can cause intermittent failure
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