Rapid response system implementation reversed critical deterioration — an unplanned transfer to an intensive care unit including the use of mechanical ventilation or vasodepressor infusion in the 12 hours after transfer — among pediatric patients, according to an article in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers analyzed a hospital's data from nearly 2,000 unplanned pediatric transfers to intensive care units between July 2007 and May 2012. A rapid response system was put in place halfway through the study period, in February 2010.
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Rapid response protocol was associated with a 62 percent reduction in critical deterioration when compared to pre-intervention critical deterioration rates.
A rapid response system is often put in place in an effort to reduce cardiac arrest and death, though researchers suggested the procedure may not be effective in this capacity and may be more effectively used to prevent other conditions, such as critical deterioration.
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