RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEM. A PRACTICAL GUIDE

• Part I: Rapid Response Teams
1 Evolution and Evidence for Rapid Response Teams
2 Rapid Response Team Organization and Activation
3 Leadership and Crisis Management
• Part II: Common Emergency Syndromes and Management
4 In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
5 Atrial Fibrillation and Other Cardiac Arrhythmias
6 Hypoxemia and Respiratory Failure
7 Seizures and Altered Mental Status
8 Hypotension and Shock
9 Hypertensive Emergencies
10 Bleeding Emergencies
11 Chest Pain and Acute Coronary Syndrome
12 Major Trauma
13 Sepsis
• Part III: Special Circumstances
14 Pediatric Emergencies
15 Obstetric Emergencies
16 Behavioral Health Emergencies
17 Oncologic Emergencies
18 The Difficult Airway
19 Acute Stroke
20 Pulmonary Embolism
21 Ventricular Assist Devices
22 Management of Exsanguinating Hemorrhage: Hemostasis and Reduction
23 Palliative Care Interventions: Role in Rapid Response Team Events
• Part IV: Emergency Procedures
24 Airway Management
25 Emergency Vascular Access
26 Critical Care Ultrasound
27 Tube Thoracostomy
• Part V: Equipment
28 The Emergency Crash Cart
29 Airway Equipment
30 Point-of-Care Testing
31 Portable Monitors and Defibrillators
• Part VI: Organization and Administration
Chapter 32: Hospital Policy
Chapter 33: Communication and Coordination of Care
Chapter 34: Patient Safety and Quality Improvement

Rapid Response System: A Practical Guide provides a practical approach to the evaluation, differential diagnosis, and management of common medical and surgical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, acute respiratory failure, seizures, and hemorrhagic shock occurring in hospitalized patients. Less common and special circumstances such as pediatric, obstetric, oncologic, neurologic and behavioral emergencies as well as palliative care for terminally ill patients encountered in the context of rapid response team events are also discussed. An overview of commonly performed bedside emergency procedures by rapid response team members complements the clinical resources that may need to be brought to bear during the course of the rapid response team event. Finally, an overview of organization, leadership, communication, quality and patient safety surrounding rapid response team events is provided.
This book is written with medical students, junior physicians and nursing staff in mind working in both academic and community hospital settings. Both a novice and an experienced healthcare provider involved in a rapid response system will find this handbook to be valuable supplement to the clinical experiences gained though active engagement in the system.
Hospital administrators and senior management staff will also find this book to be useful in the evaluation of quality and performance of the rapid response system, management of staff attitudes and behavior, performance of peer review, care for second victims and implementation of countermeasures for patient safety problems discovered in the course of rapid response system reviews.

Features
• Highlights practical evaluation and management aspects of common medical emergencies
• Extensive focus on patient management will be invaluable to rapid response team members at the bedside
• A useful reference for junior physicians and nursing staff

Authors
• Raghavan Murugan, Associate Professor of Critical Care Medicine; Medical Director, Critical Care Outreach Service, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
• Joseph M. Darby, Professor of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center