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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Prospective evaluation of a pediatric inpatient early warning scoring system
Karen M Tucker1, Tracy L Brewer, Rachel B Baker
1Patient Services, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. karen.tucker@cchmc.org
Purpose:
The present study evaluated the use of the Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) for detecting clinical deterioration among hospitalized children.
Design/Methods:
A prospective, descriptive study design was used. The tool was used to score 2,979 patients admitted to a single medical unit of a pediatric hospital over a 12-month period.
Results:
PEWS discriminated between children who required transfer to the pediatric intensive care unit and those who did not require transfer (area under the curve = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.84-0.94, p < .001).
Implications:
The PEWS tool was found to be a reliable and valid scoring system to identify children at risk for clinical deterioration.
