Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sensitivity of The Pediatric Early Warning Score To Identify Patient Deterioration
Sensitivity of The Pediatric Early Warning Score To Identify Patient Deterioration
e764 AKRE et al
Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on August 23, 2018
ARTICLES
FIGURE 1
Children’s guide to PEWS.
lar. Scores in each domain can range sleeping, and/or irritable. During wak- discussed and refined the scoring
from 0 to 3 points (Fig 1). In addition, 2 ing shifts, this would not be customary rules, and then independently scored
points are added for nebulizations that documentation. When these words patients until interrater reliability
are continuous or every 15 minutes were not documented, the item was was achieved on a sample of 10 pa-
and 2 points for persistent postopera- scored as missing. When data were not tient records. Our electronic medical
tive vomiting. The total score can available for a specific domain, it was record included many more descrip-
range from 0 to 13. marked as missing. To ensure consis- tors of patient status than are included
PEWS were calculated for 24 hours be- tency, a single “expert” performed all in the tool, which required agreement
fore the event at intervals of at least 4 scoring. on which terms would be recom-
hours for each of the identified pa- mended to staff to facilitate scoring
tients. This is consistent with assess- Training the Expert in PEWS PEWS. One example is the option for
ment frequencies for nurses on these A licensed registered nurse with exten- patient color. PEWS has 3 choices, and
units. When assessment charting was sive intensive care, rapid response, the electronic medical record has 6. By
more frequent than 4 hours, additional and code blue experience reviewed pa- comparing their results data, interpre-
PEWS were calculated. Behavioral tient charts and determined PEWS. tation was refined until agreement
scoring required the actual use of the Working with a hospital advanced was achieved. This agreement of terms
words shown in Fig 1, such as playing, practice nurse, they reviewed charts, for scoring was also used to train staff.
e766 AKRE et al
Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on August 23, 2018
ARTICLES
TABLE 2 Monitoring ceived arterial blood gas/venous blood level of care as a measure of deterio-
Monitoring Preceding 24 h Added, n (% gas. A total of 40 (23.5%) patients who ration. Also and as important, this is
Type Before Event, n of total)a experienced an RRT event were moved the only study that documented the
(% of total)
to the PICU. These outcomes are simi- lead time for which PEWS would have
Oximetry 124 (66.7) 59 (31.7)
Cardiac 46 (24.7) 34 (18.3) lar to those reported for Children’s by signaled deterioration earlier than
Increased NA 13 (7.0) Zenker et al.3 standard clinical observation. Hospi-
assessment talized pediatric patients are known to
Any monitoring 124 (66.7) 81 (43.5)
Code Blue exhibit prolonged compensatory stabi-
NA indicates not applicable.
a Includes monitoring that may have been stopped and
As shown in Table 3, for 9 of 16 patients lization before decompensation. Earli-
then restored. est recognition and intervention on the
who experienced a code blue event and
also had a critical PEWS, the median basis of any single critical PEWS could
time from the earliest critical PEWS to support these children during their
ing initiated before the RRT or code compensatory phase and improve out-
the critical event was 6 hours, 45 min-
blue event. This is used instead of car- comes and reduce cost of care. During
utes and the latest was 55 minutes. The
diac monitoring for patients who are the compensatory phase, PEWS would
remaining 7 patients did not have a
outside the ICU, and nurses can be expected to vary, depending on the
critical PEWS. Eight patients had addi-
independently initiate it. A total of
tion of an oximeter at a median time of patient’s underlying diagnosis and co-
81 (43.5%) patients had monitoring
7 hours, 20 minutes, and 3 patients had morbidities and ability to compensate.
added during the 24-hour pre-event pe-
no interruption of oximetry monitoring This variation in comorbidities and the
riod. The median time of the first addi-
during the 24 hours before the critical ability to compensate may account for
tion of a monitor before the event was
event. the intermittent consultations on the
6 hours, 54 minutes. This additional
For all patients who experienced a patients before the events and also ac-
monitoring was interpreted as evi-
code blue event, significant comorbid- count for ⬍100% critical scores for
dence of some staff awareness of
ity existed. Six of the 16 experienced the study patients. In addition, the se-
change in patient condition. Evidence
prolonged seizure with hypoxia, 2 had verity of comorbidity for patients who
of documented increased frequency of
cardiopulmonary arrests, and 2 had experienced a code blue event contrib-
nursing assessment was rare at 7%.
equipment failure related to trach- uted to sudden changes in physiologic
We evaluated a subgroup of 72 pa- status that were not always signaled
ventilator dependence. The remaining
tients who shared 3 common findings: by a critical PEWS, as shown in Table 3.
patients had sudden respiratory fail-
(1) critical PEWS; (2) clinician consul-
ure as a result of an acute event that For the subgroup of patients who had
tation; and (3) addition of a monitor.
included apnea, aspiration, and airway a combination of factors indicating
When all median times to the event
were compared, they were signifi-
occlusion with cough. Twelve of the 16 risk—(1) PEWS ⱖ4, (2) monitoring
patients who experienced a code blue added, and (3) at least 1 medical
cantly different (P ⬍ .001). The median
time to first consultation was 73 min- event were transferred to a higher consultation—the timing of these fac-
utes, which was significantly less than level of care, 3 remained on their unit, tors was noteworthy. The time for
first critical PEWS at 602 minutes (10 and 1 was unresponsive to resuscita- added monitoring was not significantly
hours, 2 minutes; P ⬍ .001). The me- tion efforts and died. different from the earliest critical PEWS.
dian time for addition of a monitor was This close proximity of timing supports
DISCUSSION the premise that PEWS is an objective
406 minutes (6 hours, 46 minutes),
similar to critical PEWS (P ⫽ .42). We have shown that PEWS are likely to tool that validates nurses’ clinical ap-
be critical at points in time during the praisal of their patient’s changing sta-
RRT Interventions and Subsequent 24-hour period before an RRT or code tus, yet PEWS ⱖ4 indicated a risk for de-
Placement in the PICU blue event, giving valuable forewarn- terioration 6 hours earlier than the first
Nearly 91% of patients who experi- ing. To our knowledge, this is the first documented medical consultation. This
enced an RRT event received a signifi- report of the evaluation of the sensitiv- is consistent with the discussion by An-
cant medical intervention: 37.1% ity of the PEWS as an indicator of risk drews and Waterman7 of the need to
received oxygen, 27.1% received nebu- for an RRT or code blue event during have “a definitive way to get doctors’ at-
lization, 21.1% received oral/nasal/ the 24 hours before these events. tention and convince them to review
pharynx suctioning, 17.6% received Tucker et al15 as well as Tume14 used patients . . . by presenting quantifiable
cardiac monitoring, and 21.1% re- only unplanned transfer to a higher evidence of deterioration” because
“quantifiable changes are used by doc- patient. Scoring from the normal pedi- less of the nurse, their experience,
tors to prioritize their workload.” The ac- atric baseline, as with PEWS, could fa- the unit, or the patient’s underlying
tions specified in the PEWS algorithm cilitate greater situational awareness condition.”
supports nurses to consult with the of the narrow range of patient changes There were several limitations to this
medical provider at the earliest time to be tolerated without consultation. study. We depended on the accuracy of
that deterioration in patient status is The results of this study clearly dem- patient charting and nursing notes to
identified. onstrate a prolonged period of patient generate retrospective PEWS. Nurses’
Nursing autonomy permits supportive change, affording the opportunity for normalization to their patient popula-
interventions to assist the compensat- consultation and intervention before a tion influences their charting by excep-
ing patient before consultation with level of decompensation that requires tion and may have contributed to the
another clinician. In the absence of a an RRT or a code blue event. Evaluation missing data elements in this retro-
standardized tool, nurses rely on their of tool sensitivity was important to spective review. Usually the missing
clinical attentiveness, intuition, and demonstrate the benefit of an objec- domains were behavior state at
subjective evaluation to interpret clin- tive assessment tool to support con- 25.4% because staff members do not
ical findings. Nurses do small interven- cise, prompt team communication of always document the alert state dur-
tions in repeated cycles to maintain a patient status changes over time. One ing the day and Cardiovascular color
patient’s vital signs without recogniz- physician stated, “The nice thing about at 26.1% because staff members do
ing that they are compensating for the PEWS is that a score of 4 is a 4 regard- not tend to document normal status.
e768 AKRE et al
Downloaded from www.aappublications.org/news by guest on August 23, 2018
ARTICLES
Even under these conditions, we have CONCLUSIONS sponse to changing patient status. Addi-
shown that PEWS was highly sensitive With 85.5% of patients having at least 1 tional studies are imperative to confirm
in identifying patients’ deterioration critical PEWS before the RRT or code blue these findings and to describe potential
and was indicative of risk for an RRT or event at a median time of ⬎11 hours, we impact of PEWS on clinical outcomes
code blue event. The percentage of pa- believe this to be a strong indicator of its when there is earlier recognition of clin-
tients with increased frequency of as- potential to alert the care provider of ical deterioration.
sessment may have been higher than clinical deterioration. Our results are ev- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
the reported 7%; however, there was idence that the PEWS can potentially play We acknowledge our colleagues at Cin-
not documentation to back up this be- a critical role in (1) quantifying patient cinnati Children’s for sharing their
lief. The PEWS tool is relatively new. As status, (2) supporting early recognition early experience with clinical imple-
such, much of the data about its use of clinical deterioration, and (3) promot- mentations of PEWS and their ongoing
and results are not yet published, and ing concise communication among care support in our efforts to implement
comparison of results is not possible. providers to alter plans of care in re- the tool.
REFERENCES
1. Vandenberg SD, Hutchinson JS, Parshuram ciation between score and outcome. Anaes- Services: Guidelines Services: Guidelines
CS. A cross-sectional survey of levels of thesia. 2005;60(6):547–553 for using paediatric early warning scoring
care and response mechanisms for evolv- 6. Tarassenko L, Hann A, Young D. Integrated tool. National Health System, Hertfordshire
ing critical illness in hospitalized children. monitoring and analysis for early warning Partnership, England. August 2006
Pediatrics. 2007;119(4). Available at: of patient deterioration. Br J Anaesth. 2006; 12. Monaghan A. Detecting and managing dete-
www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/119/ 97(1):64 – 68 rioration in children. Paediatr Nurs. 2005;
4/e940 7. Andrews T, Waterman H. Pediatric Early 17(1):32–35
2. Brilli RJ, Gibson R, Luria JW, et al. Implemen- Warning Scores (PEWS): do they indicate 13. Edwards ED, Powell CV, Mason BW, Oliver A.
tation of a medical emergency team in a patients at risk for a rapid response team Prospective cohort study to test the predict-
large pediatric teaching hospital prevents (RRT) or code event? J Adv Nurs. 2005;52(5): ability of the Cardiff and Vale paediatric
respiratory and cardiopulmonary arrests 473– 481 early warning system. Arch Dis Child. 2009;
outside the intensive care unit. Pediatr Crit 8. Duncan H, Hutchison J, Parshuram CS. The 94(8):602– 606
Care Med. 2007;8(3):236 –246 pediatric early warning score: a severity of 14. Tume L. The deterioration of children in
3. Zenker P, Schlesinger A, Hauck M, et al. Im- illness score to predict urgent medical ward areas in a specialist children’s hospi-
plementation and impact of a rapid re- need in hospitalized children. J Crit Care. tal. Nurs Crit Care. 2007;12(1):12–19
sponse team in a children’s hospital. Jt 2006;21(3):271–279 15. Tucker KM, Brewer TL, Baker RB, Demeritt B,
Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2007;33(7): 9. Duncan HP. Survey of early identification Vossmeyer MT. Prospective evaluation of a
418 – 425 systems to identify inpatient children at pediatric inpatient early warning scoring
4. Sharek PJ, Parast LM, Leong K, et al. Effect of risk of physiological deterioration. Arch Dis system. J Spec Pediatr Nurs. 2009;14(2):
rapid response team on hospital-wide mor- Child. 2007;92(9):828 79 – 85
tality and code rates outside the ICU in a 10. Haines C, Perrott M, Weir P. Promoting care 16. 3M3M. APR DRG Software Versions 20 and 24;
children’s hospital. JAMA. 2007;298(19): for acutely ill children: development and 2007. All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related
2267–2274 evaluation of a pediatric early warning tool. Groups. Available at: http://multimedia.
5. Goldhill DR, McNarry AF, Mandersloot G, Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2006;22(2):73– 81 3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?66666UuZjc
McGinley A. A physiologically-based early 11. Quist-Therson E and the Hertfordshire FSLXTtlxfEMxM2EVuQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666--.
warning score for ward patients: the asso- Partnership NHS Trust. Acute Children’s Accessed February 15, 2010
Updated Information & including high resolution figures, can be found at:
Services http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/4/e763
References This article cites 13 articles, 2 of which you can access for free at:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/4/e763#BIBL
Subspecialty Collections This article, along with others on similar topics, appears in the
following collection(s):
Fetus/Newborn Infant
http://www.aappublications.org/cgi/collection/fetus:newborn_infant_
sub
Neonatology
http://www.aappublications.org/cgi/collection/neonatology_sub
Permissions & Licensing Information about reproducing this article in parts (figures, tables) or
in its entirety can be found online at:
http://www.aappublications.org/site/misc/Permissions.xhtml
Reprints Information about ordering reprints can be found online:
http://www.aappublications.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml
The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is
located on the World Wide Web at:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/125/4/e763
Pediatrics is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A monthly publication, it
has been published continuously since 1948. Pediatrics is owned, published, and trademarked by
the American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, Illinois,
60007. Copyright © 2010 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. All rights reserved. Print ISSN:
1073-0397.