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To the Editor: In their cohort study, Dr Chan and colleagues¹ showed that rapid response team implementation did not improve mortality at their institution. It is reasonable to expect that the effect of implementing a rapid response team would vary among hospitals and even within different areas of the same hospital, depending on staff resources and experience levels. It would therefore be useful to know additional characteristics of their hospital.

Additionally, the purpose of a rapid response team is to reduce preventable mortality, which may not translate into a statistically significant reduction in overall mortality. Previous studies suggest that patients in approximately 66% of codes show significant vital sign abnormalities (which are the usual triggers for rapid response team activation) in the hours prior to a code.² It would be interesting to see data on the number of patients who met rapid response team activation criteria before and after implementation . . . [Full Text of this Article]

John H. Sherner, MD
john.sherner@amedd.army.mil
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Washington, DC

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