Laboratory alerts to guide early intensive care team review in surgical patients: A feasibility, safety, and efficacy pilot randomized controlled trial.

Aim: Common blood tests can help identify patients at risk of death, unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or rapid response team (RRT) call. We aimed to test whether early ICU-team review triggered by such laboratory tests (lab alert) is feasible, safe, and can alter physiological variables, clinical management, and clinical outcomes.

Methods: In prospective pilot randomized controlled trial in surgical wards of a tertiary hospital, we studied patients admitted for >24 h.