Pediatric specialized transport teams are associated with improved outcomes.

Objective: The goal was to test the hypothesis that interfacility transport performed by a pediatric critical care specialized team, compared with nonspecialized teams, would be associated with improved survival rates and fewer unplanned events during the transport process.

Methods: A single-center, prospective, cohort study was performed between January 2001 and September 2002. A total of 1085 infants and children at referral community hospitals with requests for retrieval by the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh transport team were studied; 1021(94%) were transported by a specialty team and 64 (6%) by nonspecialized teams.