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Emergency department rapid response systems: the case for a standardized approach to deteriorating patients

journal contribution
posted on 2013-12-01, 00:00 authored by Julie ConsidineJulie Considine, D Jones, R Bellomo
Objectives: 
The aim of this paper, is to present a case to develop and test emergency department (ED)-specific approaches to improve the sequential detection, recognition and timely escalation of care for ED patients who have deteriorated after their initial triage and assessment.

Results:
Managing the risk of clinical deterioration is a key feature of emergency care and underpins practice. However, although the epidemiology of deterioration in hospitalized ward patients has been well studied, the epidemiology of deterioration in ED patients is less understood. As ED workloads continue to increase, an emerging challenge for ED clinicians is how best to recognize and rapidly respond to deteriorating ED patients following triage and/or medical assessment. Rapid response systems for such patients exist in hospital wards; however, the use of rapid response systems in EDs is variable and largely unknown outside the UK.

Conclusion:
A systematic approach to the early recognition of, and response to, deteriorating ED patients across the entire ED trajectory of care remains untested. Given the complexities of the ED environment, ward-based models of recognizing and responding to deteriorating patients may not meet the specific needs of the ED.

History

Journal

European journal of emergency medicine

Volume

20

Issue

6

Pagination

375 - 381

Publisher

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Location

London, England

ISSN

0969-9546

eISSN

1473-5695

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2013, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins