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Paediatric transport ventilation: nCPAP first, transfers dominate
Prehospital paediatric and neonatal ventilatory support by a South African public emergency medical service: A retrospective descriptive study
South African Medical Journal · Added 3 November 2026
A South African retrospective review of 1,548 ventilated under-fives in Western Cape EMS found 99.4% were interfacility transfers, mostly for respiratory distress, with non-invasive support dominating (nCPAP 66.5%, high-flow 14.5%) over invasive ventilation (18.9%).
- Study type
- Cohort
- Design
- Retrospective descriptive study of electronic records, 2023
- Participants
- 1,548 ventilated under-5s among 61,775 paediatric/neonatal activations, Western Cape public EMS
- Main finding
- Interfacility transfers 99.4%; respiratory distress 73.5%; nCPAP 66.5%, high-flow nasal cannula 14.5%, invasive ventilation 18.9%; high FiO2 (>0.6) documented in 11.6% of nCPAP cases
- Caveat
- Descriptive single-service data from a resource-constrained setting, documentation-based, no clinical outcomes
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). A practice-pattern description from a resource-constrained public service rather than an outcome study, but the nCPAP-first, transfer-heavy caseload is a useful benchmark for paediatric transport practice anywhere.
Learning goal
Refine my selection of non-invasive ventilatory support for paediatric and neonatal patients during transport.
More
- Topic: Paediatrics
- Daily scan: 3 November 2026
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