Rapid response team calls to obstetric patients in a busy quaternary maternity hospital.

Aims: There is limited published information regarding intensive care unit (ICU) led rapid response team (RRT) calls to obstetric patients. We examined the characteristics of RRT calls to obstetric patients at a tertiary teaching hospital.

Methods: Details of calls to pregnant and postpartum patients between October 2010 and June 2014 were obtained from the hospital RRT database.

Why don't hospital staff activate the rapid response system (RRS)? How frequently is it needed and can the process be improved?

Background: The rapid response system (RRS) is a process of accessing help for health professionals when a patient under their care becomes severely ill. Recent studies and meta-analyses show a reduction in cardiac arrests by a one-third in hospitals that have introduced a rapid response team, although the effect on overall hospital mortality is less clear. It has been suggested that the difficulty in establishing the benefit of the RRS has been due to implementation difficulties and a reluctance of clinical staff to call for additional help.

Acute stress ulceration prophylaxis: point prevalence surveys in intensive care units in Victoria, 1997 and 2005.

Objective: To assess current practice in acute stress ulceration (ASU) prophylaxis in adult intensive care units in Victoria, Australia, in 1997 and 2005.

Methods: Point prevalence surveys using a structured telephone questionnaire of ASU prophylaxis practices were performed in adult ICUs in Victoria on 11 November 1997 and 13 April 2005.

Results: All Victorian ICUs identified on each study day participated, comprising 30 ICUs in 1997 and 35 ICUs in 2005.