Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
Study
Classic

Effect of a pediatric early warning system on all-cause mortality in hospitalized pediatric patients.

Parshuram CS, Dryden-Palmer K, Farrell C, et al. Effect of a Pediatric Early Warning System on All-Cause Mortality in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: The EPOCH Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2018;319(10):1002-1012. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.0948.

Save
Print
August 20, 2018
Parshuram CS, Dryden-Palmer K, Farrell C, et al. JAMA. 2018;319(10):1002-1012.
View more articles from the same authors.

Identifying incipient clinical deterioration is a prerequisite for rapid response and prevention of harm for hospitalized patients. This study tested a bedside pediatric early warning system, which included an illness severity score, standardized documentation, and monitoring protocols. In a cluster-randomized trial in several high-income countries, implementation of the bundle did not result in decreased in-hospital mortality compared to usual care. The overall mortality rate in the study was less than 0.2%. The authors suggest that this unexpectedly low mortality rate may have made it difficult to detect differences in intervention versus control hospitals. A related editorial suggests that artificial intelligence should be used to identify clinical deterioration and that outcomes beyond mortality should be considered in their evaluation.

Save
Print
Cite
Citation

Parshuram CS, Dryden-Palmer K, Farrell C, et al. Effect of a Pediatric Early Warning System on All-Cause Mortality in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: The EPOCH Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2018;319(10):1002-1012. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.0948.