The Effect of Treatment Delays Associated with Inpatient Inter-hospital Transfer from Peripheral to Tertiary Hospitals for the Surgical Treatment of Cardiology Patients

摘要

Background Nearly 100,000 presentations to non-tertiary hospitals per year result in an inpatient transfer [1]. The timely inter-hospital transfer of patients for cardiothoracic surgery is significant to their overall outcomes. We hypothesised that patients with a prolonged pre-operative admission were at risk of nosocomial infection, leading to prolonged hospitalisation, morbidity and mortality.