Rapid Response Systems
36th Critical Care Congress: Rapid Response Teams: Lessons Learned
Bradford D. Winters, MD, PhD, discusses the wide implementation of rapid response teams, focusing on different team compositions and various teams implemented across organizations. Michael DeVita, MD, reviews recent literature and the lessons gleaned in his own institution’s experience to help guide new adopters through the implementation process. Michael Howell, MD, presents an assessment process to identify how current practice can be improved. To hear the complete presentation, select your choice from the announcement box to the right.
Publications
Pediatrics
Medical Response Teams in Pediatrics – Status Report. Current Concepts in Pediatric Critical Care. 2007
Event detection and triggering mechanisms for medical response team (MRT) consultation in adult institutions usually includes five to eight physiologic parameters, such as pathologic alterations in respiratory rate, heart rate, or blood pressure (up or down), deteriorating level of consciousness, and clinician “worry or concern.” Little is known about triggering mechanisms in children. MRT activation in pediatrics offers unique challenges because vital sign-related triggers must be adjusted to age-specific norms and, therefore, the number of variables for staff to remember increases substantially compared to the adult population. In the only pediatric data published to date, Tibballs et al. described MRT activation parameters, which included five respiratory rate criteria, 10 heart rate criteria, five blood pressure criteria, any change in neurologic status, and staff concern. The criteria as outlined by Tibballs et al. are more specific and may be more sensitive to patient changes, but they also may be more difficult for bedside practitioners to remember and therefore represent a greater challenge to implementation. There are insufficient data at this time to determine the optimal MRT activation criteria in children.
Click here to view the entire chapter of Medical Response Teams in Pediatrics – Status Report.
For more information on caring for critically ill and injured pediatric patients, the publication Current Concepts in Pediatric Critical Care is available for purchase from the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Click here for details or to add it to your shopping cart.
Critical Connections Articles
Rapid Response Systems: Have They Made a Difference?
Critical Connections, 2006 June, Volume 5, Number 3
SCCM Pod-36 CC: Rapid Response Systems
Marie R. Baldisseri, MD, an intensivist from the University of Pittsburgh, discusses her article from the June 2006 issue of Critical Connections, titled "Rapid Response Systems: Have They Made a Difference?" Dr. Baldisseri is an associate professor of critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Crit Conn. 2006;5(3):6