Enhanced end-of-life care associated with deploying a rapid response team: a pilot study.

Hypothesis: Institution of a rapid response team (RRT) improves patients' quality of death (QOD).

Setting: A 425-bed community teaching hospital.

Patients: : All medical-surgical patients whose end-of-life care was initiated on the hospital wards during the 8 months before (pre-RRT) and after (post-RRT) actuation.

Outcomes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation for patients on vasopressors or inotropes: a pilot study.

Hypothesis: Outcomes of critically ill patients who receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are poor, and the subgroup on vasopressors or inotropes before cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) rarely survives.

Setting: The setting of the study was a critical care unit of a 350-bed community teaching hospital.

Study Design: This was a retrospective, cohort study.