Scoring systems in paediatric emergency care: Panacea or paper exercise?

Scoring systems to recognise the most ill patients, or those at risk of deterioration, are increasingly utilised in hospitals that look after paediatric inpatients. There have been efforts to implement these systems in emergency and urgent care settings, but they have yet unproven value. This is bec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of paediatrics and child health 2016-02, Vol.52 (2), p.181-186
Main Authors: Roland, Damian, McCaffery, Kevin, Davies, Ffion
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Clinical Decision-Making - methods
Decision Support Techniques
emergency care
Emergency medical care
Emergency Service, Hospital
Health Status Indicators
human factors
Humans
paediatrics
Patient Admission
Patient Discharge
Patient Safety
Pediatric Emergency Medicine - methods
Pediatrics
Quality of care
scoring systems
Triage - methods
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Summary:Scoring systems to recognise the most ill patients, or those at risk of deterioration, are increasingly utilised in hospitals that look after paediatric inpatients. There have been efforts to implement these systems in emergency and urgent care settings, but they have yet unproven value. This is because the child or young person presenting acutely is a different cohort than the ‘treated’ ward‐based group. The majority of children presenting to emergency and urgent care settings are discharged home, and so, scoring systems need to recognise the most unwell but also assist in safe and appropriate discharge as well as highlighting those patients in need of more senior review. This article explores this conundrum, suggesting how cognitive factors have a role to play, and how scoring systems can have wider effects than just individual patient care.
ISSN:1034-4810
1440-1754
1440-1754
DOI:10.1111/jpc.13123