Akhtar, Naheed, Field, R. A., Greenwood, L., Davies, Robin P., Woolley, S., Cooke, Matthew, MB ChB and Perkins, Gavin D.. (2012) Quality of in-hospital cardiac arrest calls : a prospective observational study. BMJ Quality and Safety, Vol.21 (No.3). pp. 184-190. ISSN 2044-5415

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the quality and diagnostic accuracy of in-hospital adult clinical emergency calls. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Three National Health Service acute hospitals in England. Participants: Adult patients sustaining an in-hospital cardiac arrest (CA) or medical emergency (ME) which required activation of the hospital resuscitation team between 1 December 2009 and 30 April 2010. Main outcome measures: Emergency call duration, emergency team dispatch time, diagnostic accuracy of emergency call (sensitivity/specificity), thematic analysis of emergency call, patient outcomes (return of spontaneous circulation and survival to hospital discharge). Results: There were 426 adult resuscitation team activations. There was variability in emergency call duration ranging from 6 to 92 s (median 15 s; IQR 12-19). The sensitivity and specificity of calls for a CA was 91% (86.4-94.6%) and 62% (55.5-68.7%), respectively. Sensitivity did not change with call duration but specificity increased from 38% (25.8-51.0%) for the shortest calls to 82% (69.5-89.6%) for longer calls; p=0.03. The return of spontaneous circulation rate was 38% for calls when the patient was confirmed as in CA upon arrival of the resuscitation team. Survival to hospital discharge rates was higher in patients with shorter call durations (26%) than calls with longer call duration (12%); p=0.028. Five themes emerged identifying reasons for the increased call delay. Conclusion: There is variability in duration and diagnostic accuracy of in-hospital emergency calls. This is associated with delayed activation of the emergency response. The attempt to differentiate between ME and CA is a source of confusion. A single clinical emergency response for CA and ME calls may provide a more focused and timely emergency response.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Journal or Publication Title:	BMJ Quality and Safety
Publisher:	B M J Group
ISSN:	2044-5415
Date:	March 2012
Volume:	Vol.21
Number:	No.3
Page Range:	pp. 184-190
Identification Number:	10.1136/bmjqs-2011-000319
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/45008

Request changes to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item