A Validation Study of the Paediatric Non-Urgent Risk Assessment Management and Nurse Escort Assessment (PaNURAMA) Tool for Paediatric Inter-Hospital Transfers
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Thomas, C
White, N
MacDowall, L
Crookston, D
Cole, R
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Abstract
Objective: Decision support tools improve risk assessment in critical paediatric inter-hospital transfers (IHT), however, data on non-critical transfers of unwell children is limited. This study assessed the validity and reliability of a novel risk stratification tool, paediatric non-urgent risk assessment management and nurse escort assessment (PaNURAMA), designed to improve the quality of non-critical IHT for paediatric patients. Developed through expert multidisciplinary consultation, PaNURAMA provides three-tiered risk stratification to determine consultation, treatment, and escort needs: (i) Red (retrieval team co-ordination, medical escort considerations), (ii) Amber (specialist consultation, potential nurse escort) and (iii) Green (standard referral, no escort required). Methods: PaNURAMA's accuracy in predicting risk stratification and nurse escort needs was evaluated utilising a randomised sample with de-identified data from 175 children that underwent IHTs (2019–2020). A blinded expert reviewer applied the tool to a pre-referral dataset, assigning predicted risk and escort requirements. Review and risk stratification of the post-arrival dataset was also completed. Sensitivity and specificity were assessed using an exact binomial test, targeting 80% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Results: Of all cases, 68% were stratified as Amber, with 26% requiring an escort. Overall risk stratification agreement between pre- and post-transfer classifications was 94% (range 62% Red to 98% Amber). Intra-rater reliability was strong (κ = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.74–0.92). Escort allocation had 97% specificity for true negatives and 82% for true positives. Discrepancies reflected clinical improvements or additional findings post-referral. Conclusion: PaNURAMA demonstrates strong validity and reliability in risk stratification and escort allocation supporting its use in transfer decision making for non-critical paediatric IHTs.
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Emergency Medicine Australasia
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37
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4
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© 2025 The Author(s). Emergency Medicine Australasia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
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Emergency medicine
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Davison, M; Thomas, C; White, N; MacDowall, L; Crookston, D; Cole, R, A Validation Study of the Paediatric Non-Urgent Risk Assessment Management and Nurse Escort Assessment (PaNURAMA) Tool for Paediatric Inter-Hospital Transfers, Emergency Medicine Australasia, 2025, 37 (4), pp. e70087