Implementation of the bedside pediatric early warning system did not significantly reduce all-cause mortality among inpatients as compared with usual care, according to a JAMA report.
Researchers conducted the multicenter trial in 21 hospitals located in seven countries — Belgium, Canada, England, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The hospitals had continuous physician staffing and subspecialized pediatric services. Researchers enrolled patients from Feb. 28, 2011, through June 21, 2015. Follow-ups ended on July 19, 2015.
In total, 144,539 patients completed the trial, representing 559,443 patient-days. All-cause hospital mortality was 1.93 per 1,000 patient discharges at hospitals with a bedside pediatric early warning system. The all-cause death rate was 1.56 per 1,000 patient discharges at hospitals that provided usual care.
Additionally, the study shows significant clinical deterioration events occurred during 0.50 per 1,000 patient-days at hospitals with the bedside intervention as compared to 0.84 per 1,000 patient-days at hospitals with usual care.