Experience with the transition process of adolescents with chronic diseases from pediatric to adult care in a general hospital.

INTRODUCTION
The continuity of care from pediatrics to adult medicine is key to optimal health care.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the experience of the transition process of adolescent patients with chronic diseases from pediatric to adult care in a general hospital.


POPULATION AND METHODS
Cross-sectional study of patients aged 16-24 years with a history of liver transplantation, kidney transplantation, endocrine, metabolic, rheumatic diseases, and myelomeningocele seen at a tertiary care teaching general hospital between 2015 and 2019 during the transition process. The process of health care and transition success were assessed. The Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ) was used.


RESULTS
A total of 372 patients were included. The myelomeningocele clinic, the kidney transplant and the liver transplant teams were the most common specialties. Thirty-seven percent of participants were involved in the transition process. The mean duration of follow-up by pediatrics until transition initiation was 9 years. The mean age at the beginning of transition was 19 years, and the mean age at the end, 21 years. The joint clinic transition strategy was the most frequent, used in 96% of cases. The median value of the ordinal TRAQ was 4; of these, 32% had already seen adult care physicians. A successful transition was achieved by 32.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
The continuity of care during transition is a process that took almost 2 years; more than one third of the patients had a successful transition.