DETECT study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Dynamic Electronic Tracking and Escalation to reduce Critical Care Transfers (DETECT study)
IRAS ID
215339
Contact name
Enitan Carrol
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Missed clinical deterioration is a huge problem in the NHS, leading to emergency transfer to critical care, and at worst, death. Children who require emergency admissions to critical care are sicker, need more intensive treatment and have a longer stay than planned admissions. This study will evaluate whether using an electronic surveillance system incorporating a paediatric early warning score (PEWS), can identify signs of deterioration earlier, so that urgent treatment can be given, and if this prevents emergency admission to critical care.
VitalPAC is an electronic hand held device which records vital signs to help detect deterioration. VitalPAC has been shown to improve serious illness recognition and reduce deaths in adults. There is potential for similar benefits for children. However, the device used in adults is unsuitable for children because:
Signs of serious illness in children differ from those in adults.
Vital signs (heart rate, breathing and blood pressure) change markedly throughout childhood and into adulthood.
Children become seriously ill quicker than adults, particularly when they have severe infections (sepsis). Consequently, there is greater urgency to act quickly to prevent emergency transfer to critical care.
The bedside nurse directly inputs vital signs into a VitalPAC Paediatric device. It automatically charts these and calculates the PEWS, eliminating errors. The vital signs are immediately uploaded to the network so they are instantly visible to the doctors and nurses. Higher PEWS scores indicate deterioration and triggers urgent action. Senior nurses and doctors also carrying a device are alerted, without the nurse undertaking the observations leaving the patient’s bedside. They can respond quickly to provide life-saving therapy.
We will assess VitalPAC Paediatric in a children’s hospital to determine its
capability of detecting deterioration early, reducing emergency admissions to Critical Care and whether it provides value for money for the NHS.REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0533
Date of REC Opinion
24 Nov 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion