Rapid Response System: A Practical Guide (Pittsburgh Critical Care Medicine) (PDF)

Rapid Response System: A Practical Guide offers practical guidance on evaluating, diagnosing, and managing medical and surgical emergencies that commonly occur in hospitalized patients, such as cardiac arrest, acute respiratory failure, seizures, and hemorrhagic shock. The book also covers less common circumstances and special cases, including pediatric, obstetric, oncologic, neurologic, and behavioral emergencies, as well as palliative care for terminally ill patients in the context of rapid response team events. Additionally, the guide provides an overview of commonly performed bedside emergency procedures and the clinical resources that may be necessary during rapid response team events. The book concludes with a discussion of organization, leadership, communication, quality, and patient safety surrounding rapid response team events.

Written for medical students, junior physicians, and nursing staff working in academic and community hospital settings, this handbook is a valuable supplement to the clinical experiences gained through active engagement in a rapid response system. Experienced healthcare providers and novices alike will benefit from the practical advice and strategies provided in this guide.

Hospital administrators and senior management staff will also find this book to be a useful tool for evaluating the quality and performance of their rapid response systems, managing staff attitudes and behavior, performing peer reviews, providing care for second victims, and implementing countermeasures for patient safety problems identified during rapid response system reviews.