Hospitals’ Preparedness to Treat Pediatric Patients During Mass Casualty Incidents

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about the preparedness of hospitals to care for pediatric patients during a major incident in Japan. This study assessed the disaster preparedness of a children's hospital in Japan by using a disaster drill.Materials and MethodsWe performed a triage drill with all hospitalized patients. The triage tags and medical records were reviewed retrospectively. We determined the efficacy of triage education, the validity of the Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) method for children, and the potential need for evacuation through the disaster drill. RESULTS: This study highlights 3 important issues about the hospital's preparedness. First, it is difficult to promote disaster education for staff who are not well trained on handling disasters. Second, the START method is suitable for children older than 5 years, but it has a high rate of over-triaging among younger children. Third, approximately 40% of patients who are coded as immediate may require transportation resources in a hospital evacuation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that disaster preparedness, such as educating hospital staff regarding disasters and establishing evacuation systems for a number of pediatric patients when a disaster happens, is essential for caring for hospitalized children during a mass casualty incident. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:429-432).