Timing of palliative care team referrals for inpatients receiving Rapid Response services: A retrospective pilot study in a US hospital

Research indicates up to one-third of rapid response team calls relate to end-of-life symptoms. The CriSTAL criteria were developed as a screening tool to identify high risk of death within three months. The primary purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the timing of palliative care referrals in patients receiving rapid response team services, and patients ’ CriSTAL criteria score on admission. The potential feasibility of using the CriSTAL tool to stimulate earlier Palliative Care Team (PCT) referral served as an underlying goal, and investigation of a relationship between specific CriSTAL criteria and the prediction of in-hospital death was a seco ndary objective.

Source: International Journal of Nursing Studies - August 8, 2017 Category: Nursing Authors: M. Williams, M. Cardona-Morrell, P. Stevens, J. Bey, M.E. Smith Glasgow Tags: Research Paper Source Type: research