Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital
Background. Medical emergency teams (METs) or rapid response teams (RRTs) facilitate early intervention for clinically deteriorating hospitalized patients. In healthcare systems where financial resources and intensivist availability are limited, the establishment of such teams can prove challenging....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Critical Care Research and Practice |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1518760 |
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| _version_ | 1850229592753700864 |
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| author | Andrea Blotsky Louay Mardini Dev Jayaraman |
| author_facet | Andrea Blotsky Louay Mardini Dev Jayaraman |
| author_sort | Andrea Blotsky |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Medical emergency teams (METs) or rapid response teams (RRTs) facilitate early intervention for clinically deteriorating hospitalized patients. In healthcare systems where financial resources and intensivist availability are limited, the establishment of such teams can prove challenging. Objectives. A low-cost, ward-based response system was implemented on a medical clinical teaching unit in a Montreal tertiary care hospital. A prospective before/after study was undertaken to examine the system’s impact on time to intervention, code blue rates, and ICU transfer rates. Results. Ninety-five calls were placed for 82 patients. Median time from patient decompensation to intervention was 5 min (IQR 1–10), compared to 3.4 hours (IQR 0.6–12.4) before system implementation (p<0.001). Total number of ICU admissions from the CTU was reduced from 4.8/1000 patient days (±2.2) before intervention to 3.3/1000 patient days (±1.4) after intervention (IRR: 0.82, p=0.04 (CI 95%: 0.69–0.99)). CTU code blue rates decreased from 2.2/1000 patient days (±1.6) before intervention to 1.2/1000 patient days (±1.3) after intervention (IRR: 0.51, p=0.02 (CI 95%: 0.30–0.89)). Conclusion. Our local ward-based response system achieved a significant reduction in the time of patient decompensation to initial intervention, in CTU code blue rates, and in CTU to ICU transfers without necessitating additional usage of financial or human resources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2b3f3c24b2b64c84b2c1b3ff701cf903 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2090-1305 2090-1313 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Critical Care Research and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-2b3f3c24b2b64c84b2c1b3ff701cf9032025-08-20T02:04:10ZengWileyCritical Care Research and Practice2090-13052090-13132016-01-01201610.1155/2016/15187601518760Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care HospitalAndrea Blotsky0Louay Mardini1Dev Jayaraman2Department of General Internal Medicine, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Critical Care, Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of General Internal Medicine, Montreal General Hospital, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, CanadaBackground. Medical emergency teams (METs) or rapid response teams (RRTs) facilitate early intervention for clinically deteriorating hospitalized patients. In healthcare systems where financial resources and intensivist availability are limited, the establishment of such teams can prove challenging. Objectives. A low-cost, ward-based response system was implemented on a medical clinical teaching unit in a Montreal tertiary care hospital. A prospective before/after study was undertaken to examine the system’s impact on time to intervention, code blue rates, and ICU transfer rates. Results. Ninety-five calls were placed for 82 patients. Median time from patient decompensation to intervention was 5 min (IQR 1–10), compared to 3.4 hours (IQR 0.6–12.4) before system implementation (p<0.001). Total number of ICU admissions from the CTU was reduced from 4.8/1000 patient days (±2.2) before intervention to 3.3/1000 patient days (±1.4) after intervention (IRR: 0.82, p=0.04 (CI 95%: 0.69–0.99)). CTU code blue rates decreased from 2.2/1000 patient days (±1.6) before intervention to 1.2/1000 patient days (±1.3) after intervention (IRR: 0.51, p=0.02 (CI 95%: 0.30–0.89)). Conclusion. Our local ward-based response system achieved a significant reduction in the time of patient decompensation to initial intervention, in CTU code blue rates, and in CTU to ICU transfers without necessitating additional usage of financial or human resources.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1518760 |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Blotsky Louay Mardini Dev Jayaraman Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital Critical Care Research and Practice |
| title | Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital |
| title_full | Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital |
| title_fullStr | Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital |
| title_short | Impact of a Local Low-Cost Ward-Based Response System in a Canadian Tertiary Care Hospital |
| title_sort | impact of a local low cost ward based response system in a canadian tertiary care hospital |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1518760 |
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