Emergency handover of critical patients. A systematic review.

BACKGROUND:Emergency handover of critical patients is used to describe the moment of union between prehospital and hospital health team. However, the literature shows several definitions leading to great heterogeneity. PURPOSE:To study the emergency handover of critical patients between two critical-emergency care wards performed by emergency nurses worldwide and to identify the features of these processes. METHODS:We conducted an integrative review in eleven databases published from 2010 to 2019. Quality criteria and PRISMA checklist were applied. The protocol is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020182335). RESULTS:A total of 22 studies included and the following factors were identified: variability vs standardization, identification, professionals' behavior, localization, environmental factors, patient participation, clinical records, education/training, responsability, and communication. CONCLUSIONS:The actual emergency handover occurs under conditions quite contrary to those recommended by experts so that it is neither safe nor effective, leading a serious problem for patient safety and quality care.