Do rapid response teams help?

Sharma et al retrospectively observed >200,000 total patient-days for 9 months before and 27 months after implementation of a rapid response team at a single institution (U of Texas Galveston). Code rates and mortality did not change. CHEST 2011;139:1361-1367.

Many cohort studies with historical controls over the past decade suggested benefits of RRTs, although others did not. Larger cluster-randomized trials and meta-analyses (1, 2) did not show a clear benefit: codes were reduced but not overall hospital mortality.