Hourihan et al developed criteria that can be used to call a Medical Emergency Team (MET) to care for a hospital inpatient.
Indications for calling the medical emergency team - one or more of the following:
(1) cardiopulmonary arrest
(2) acute changes in vital signs
(3) threatened airway
(4) respiratory rate < 5 (hypopnea) or > 36 (tachypnea) breaths per minute
(5) pulse < 40 (bradycardia) or > 120 (tachycardia) beats per minute
(6) decrease in Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) 3 or more points:
(GCS baseline) - (current GCS) >= 3
(7) systolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg
(8) seizures that are repeated or prolonged
(9) any other reason for serious concern
where:
• The cutoffs for respiratory rate and pulse would be age-dependent, with the above criteria suitable for adult inpatients.
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Purpose: To decide if a hospital's medical emergency team (MET) should be called to attend to a patient based on the criteria of Hourihan et al.
Objective: differential diagnosis and mimics, red flags, failure handling, when to refer
ICD-10: ,
