Efficacy of Ultrasound to Guide Management During a Rapid Response Event

Rapid response team systems have been implemented in numerous hospitals throughout the world with the goal of improving the identification and safety of hospitalized patients who are clinically deteriorating. Despite their theoretical benefit, rapid response systems have not been proven in the medical literature to ultimately change outcomes. The traditional physical exam is helpful in evaluating and treating unstable medical patients during these types of events but has significant limitations of deceased sensitivity and specificity of findings. Ultrasound is a known tool for more accurately assessing patients in shock and respiratory failure in the ICU by highly trained operators but to the investigators knowledge has not been studied in the setting of rapid response events on hospital wards by critical care fellows after focused training. The investigators aim to assess the impact of ultrasound performed by critical care fellows during rapid response events.