PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Eliezer Bose
AU  - Lujie Chen
AU  - Gilles Clermont
AU  - Artur Dubrawski
AU  - Michael R Pinsky
AU  - Dianxu Ren
AU  - Leslie A Hoffman
AU  - Marilyn Hravnak
TI  - Risk for Cardiorespiratory Instability Following Transfer to a Monitored Step-Down Unit
AID  - 10.4187/respcare.05001
DP  - 2017 Apr 01
TA  - Respiratory Care
PG  - 415--422
VI  - 62
IP  - 4
4099  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/62/4/415.short
4100  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/62/4/415.full
AB  - BACKGROUND: Hospitalized patients who develop at least one instance of cardiorespiratory instability (CRI) have poorer outcomes. We sought to describe the admission characteristics, drivers, and time to onset of initial CRI events in monitored step-down unit (SDU) patients.METHODS: Admission characteristics and continuous monitoring data (frequency 1/20 Hz) were recorded in 307 subjects. Vital sign deviations beyond local instability trigger threshold criteria, with a tolerance of 40 s and cumulative duration of 4 of 5 min, were classified as CRI events. The CRI driver was defined as the first vital sign to cross a threshold and meet persistence criteria. Time to onset of initial CRI was the number of days from SDU admission to initial CRI, and duration was length of the initial CRI epoch.RESULTS: Subjects transferred to the SDU from units with higher monitoring capability were more likely to develop CRI (CRI n = 133 [44%] vs no CRI n = 174 [31%] P = .042). Time to onset varied according to the CRI driver. Subjects with at least one CRI event had a longer hospital stay (CRI 11.3 ± 10.2 d vs no CRI 7.8 ± 9.2 d, P < .001) and SDU stay (CRI 6.1 ± 4.9 d vs no CRI 3.5 ± 2.9 d, P < .001). First events were more often due to SpO2, whereas breathing frequency was the most common driver of all CRI.CONCLUSIONS: Initial CRI most commonly occurred due to SpO2 and was associated with prolonged SDU and hospital stay. Findings suggest the need for clinicians to more closely monitor SDU patients transferred from an ICU and parameters (SpO2, breathing frequency) that more commonly precede CRI events.