Macaulay, Ibironke. Rapid response system evaluation and development of standardized treatment guidelines. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-cwap-qp91
DescriptionPurpose of project: The Rapid Response System is a widely instituted healthcare practice aimed at rescuing hospitalized deteriorating patients who are outside of the intensive care units. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project analyzed rapid response event data in a tertiary hospital in Northern New Jersey for trends and patterns to identify areas of quality in the program and areas that require improvement to meet evidence-based treatment guidelines.
Methodology: This project used a retrospective chart review of rapid response events involving adult patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Northern New Jersey from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018.
Results: A total of 934 rapid response activations involving 675 adult patients over 737 hospital admissions were analyzed. There were activations that occurred once 587 (62.7%) for patients. Over 50% of the patients were 70 years old and above and had the most in-hospital cardiac arrests, initiation of a DNR order, and mortality. They comprised most of those who experienced multiple clinical deteriorating events and rapid response activations. Of the 168 patients transferred to a higher level of care, 71.3% survived their hospital stay. Overall, 15.4% of the patient experienced mortality and 1.8% experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest.
Discussion/Implication for Practice: Understanding rapid response events and characteristics of patients who would likely require rapid response intervention is important in the early identification of deterioration and thus intervention for acutely ill patients.