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.
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