Changing patterns in paediatric medical emergency team (MET) activations over 20 years in a single specialist paediatric hospital

BACKGROUND: The Medical Emergency Team (MET) model was first introduced in the early 1990s and aimed to intervene at an earlier stage of patient clinical deterioration. This study aimed to describe the changes in patient demographics, patterns of activation and clinical outcomes of MET activations at our specialist paediatric hospital across a 20-year period providing the longest duration Medical Emergency Team data set published to date. METHODS: This single-centre observational study prospectively collected data about MET events at a single specialist paediatric hospital in Australia from 1995 to 2014. Patient demographics, activation patterns and clinical outcomes from MET activations were analysed for the 20-year period. RESULTS: 771 MET events were included in analysis. Most MET events involved children aged <5 years (median age 36 months) with decreased incidence on weekends and night shift. The most frequent reasons stated for MET activation were seizure and respiratory compromise and the most commonly recorded MET interventions were bag-valve-mask ventilation and intravascular access. There was an increase in MET event frequency (MET events per 1000 hospital separations) in the second decade of the service compared to the first (3.25 vs 1.42, p ​< ​0.001) with fewer events for cardiopulmonary arrest but more for respiratory, cardiovascular or neurological compromise. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the longest duration MET data set published to date. The 20-year span of data demonstrates increased utilisation of the MET system and activation for patients earlier in their deterioration. The data should inform both health service planning and educational requirements for MET providers.