title: Reduced frequency of cardiopulmonary arrests by rapid response teams.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of the implementation of a rapid response team on the rate of cardiorespiratory arrests in mortality associated with cardiorespiratory arrests and on in-hospital mortality in a high complexity general hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis of cardiorespiratory arrests and in-hospital mortality events before and after implementation of a rapid response team. The period analyzed covered 19 months before intervention by the team (August 2005 to February 2007) and 19 months after the intervention (March 2007 to September 2008).
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the pre-intervention period, 3.54 events of cardiorespiratory arrest/1,000 discharges and 16.27 deaths/1,000 discharges were noted. After the intervention, there was a reduction in the number of cardiorespiratory arrests and in the rate of in-hospital mortality; respectively, 1.69 events of cardiorespiratory arrest/1,000 discharges (p < 0.001) and 14.34 deaths/1,000 discharges (p = 0.029).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The implementation of the rapid response team may have caused a significant reduction in the number of cardiorespiratory arrests. It was estimated that during the period from March 2007 to September 2008, the intervention probably saved 67 lives.
authors: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors: Paulo David Scatena
authors: PD
authors: Gonçales
authors: Joyce Assis
authors: JA
authors: Polessi
authors: Lital Moro
authors: LM
authors: Bass
authors: Gisele de Paula Dias
authors: Gde P
authors: Santos
authors: Paula Kiyomi Onaga
authors: PK
authors: Yokota
authors: Claudia Regina
authors: CR
authors: Laselva
authors: Constantino
authors: C
authors: Fernandes Junior
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Cendoroglo Neto
authors: Marcus
authors: M
authors: Estanislao
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Teich
authors: Camila
authors: C
authors: Sardenberg
mesh_terms: D018806:APACHE; D000368:Aged; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000379:methods*; D004638:Emergency Treatment / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality*; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D057209:Hospital Rapid Response Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies