Prehospital National Early Warning Score Research Articles

The prehospital NEW score to assess septic shock in-hospital, 30-day and 90-day mortality

BackgroundThe early identification of sepsis presenting a high risk of deterioration is a daily challenge to optimise patient pathway. This is all the most crucial in the prehospital setting to optimize triage and admission into the appropriate unit: emergency department (ED) or intensive care unit (ICU). We report the association between the prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS-2) and in-hospital, 30 and 90-day mortality of SS patients cared for in the pre-hospital setting by a mobile ICU (MICU).MethodsSeptic shock (SS) patients cared for by a MICU between 2016, April 6th and 2021 December 31st were included in this retrospective cohort study. The NEWS-2 is based on 6 physiological variables (blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, oxygen saturation prior oxygen supplementation, and level of consciousness) and ranges from 0 to 20. The Inverse Probability Treatment Weighting (IPTW) propensity method was applied to assess the association with in-hospital, 30 and 90-day mortality. A NEWS-2 ≥ 7 threshold was chosen for increased clinical deterioration risk definition and usefulness in clinical practice based on previous reports.ResultsData from 530 SS patients requiring MICU intervention in the pre-hospital setting were analysed. The mean age was 69 ± 15 years and presumed origin of sepsis was pulmonary (43%), digestive (25%) or urinary (17%) infection. In-hospital mortality rate was 33%, 30 and 90-day mortality were respectively 31% and 35%. A prehospital NEWS-2 ≥ 7 is associated with an increase in-hospital, 30 and 90-day mortality with respective RRa = 2.34 [1.39–3.95], 2.08 [1.33–3.25] and 2.22 [1.38–3.59]. Calibration statistic values for in-hospital mortality, 30-day and 90-day mortality were 0.54; 0.55 and 0.53 respectively.ConclusionA prehospital NEWS-2 ≥ 7 is associated with an increase in in-hospital, 30 and 90-day mortality of septic shock patients cared for by a MICU in the prehospital setting. Prospective studies are needed to confirm the usefulness of NEWS-2 to improve the prehospital triage and orientation to the adequate facility of sepsis.

Prehospital National Early Warning Score as a predictor of massive transfusion in adult trauma patients

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that an elevated prehospital National Early Warning Score (preNEWS) is associated with increased levels of adverse outcomes in patients with trauma. However, whether preNEWS is a predictor of massive transfusion (MT) in patients with trauma is currently unknown. This study investigated the accuracy of preNEWS in predicting MT and hospital mortality among trauma patients. MethodsWe analyzed adult trauma patients who were treated and transported by emergency medical services (EMS) between January 2018 and December 2019. The main exposure was the preNEWS calculated for the scene. The primary outcome was the predictive ability for MT, and the secondary outcome was 24 h mortality. We compared the prognostic performance of preNEWS with the shock index, modified shock index, and reverse shock index, and reverse shock index multiplied by Glasgow Coma Scale in the prehospital setting. ResultsIn total, 41,852 patients were included, and 1456 (3.5%) received MT. preNEWS showed the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve for predicting MT (0.8504; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.840–0.860) and 24 h mortality (AUROC 0.873; 95% CI, 0.863–0.883). The sensitivity of preNEWS for MT was 0.755, and the specificity of preNEWS for MT was 0.793. All indicies had a high negative predictive value and low positive predictive value. ConclusionpreNEWS is a useful, rapid predictor for MT and 24 h mortality. Calculation of preNEWS would be helpful for making the decision at the scene such as transfer straightforward to trauma center and advanced treatment.

Comparing the prehospital NEWS with in-hospital ESI in predicting 30-day severe outcomes in emergency patients

BackgroundIn Iran, the emergency departments (EDs) have largely adopted the emergency severity index (ESI) to prioritize the emergency patients, however emergency medical services (EMS) mainly triage the patients based on the paramedics’ gestalt. The National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is a recommended prehospital triage in the UK. We aimed to compare prehospital NEWS and ED ESI for predicting severe outcomes in emergency patients.MethodsAn observational study was conducted in a university-affiliated ED between January and April 2021. Adult patients who arrived in the ED by EMS were included. EMS providers calculated the patients' NEWS upon arriving on the scene using an Android NEWS application. In the ED, triage nurses utilized the ESI algorithm to prioritize patients with higher clinical risk. Then, Research nurses recorded patients' 30-day severe outcomes (death or ICU admission). Finally, The prognostic properties of ESI and NEWS were evaluated.ResultsOne thousand forty-eight cases were included in the final analysis, of which 29 (2.7%) patients experienced severe outcomes. The difference between the prehospital NEWS and ED ESI in predicting severe outcomes was not statistically significant (AUC = 0.825, 95% CI: 0.74–0.91 and 0.897, 95% CI, 0.83–0.95, for prehospital NEWS and ESI, respectively).ConclusionOur findings indicated that prehospital NEWS compares favorably with ED ESI in predicting 30-day severe outcomes in emergency patients.

Pre-hospital lowest recorded oxygen saturation independently predicts death in patients with COVID-19.

Background:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) results in hypoxia in around a fifth of adult patients. Severe hypoxia in the absence of visible respiratory distress (‘silent hypoxia’) is increasingly recognised in these patients. There are no published data evaluating lowest recorded pre-hospital oxygen saturation or pre-hospital National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) as a predictor of outcome in patients with COVID-19.Methods:In this retrospective service evaluation, we included adult inpatients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 who were discharged from hospital or who died in hospital between 12 March and 28 April 2020 (n = 143). Pre-hospital and in-hospital data were extracted and analysed to explore risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality to inform local triage and emergency management.Results:The lowest recorded pre-hospital oxygen saturation was an independent predictor of mortality when controlling for age, gender and history of COPD. A 1% reduction in pre-hospital oxygen saturation increased the odds of death by 13% (OR 1.13, p < 0.001). Lower pre-hospital oxygen saturation predicted mortality after adjusting for the pre-hospital NEWS2 (OR for a 1% reduction in pre-hospital oxygen saturation 1.09, p = 0.02). The pre-hospital NEWS2 was higher in those who died (Median 9; IQR 7-10; n = 24) than in those who survived to discharge (Median 6; IQR 5-8; n = 63).Conclusion:This service evaluation suggests that the lowest recorded pre-hospital oxygen saturation may be an independent predictor of mortality in COVID-19 patients. Lowest pre-hospital oxygen saturation should be recorded and used in the assessment of patients with suspected COVID-19 in pre-hospital and emergency department triage settings.

Random forest machine learning method outperforms prehospital National Early Warning Score for predicting one-day mortality: A retrospective study

Aim of the studyThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is a validated method for predicting clinical deterioration in hospital wards, but its performance in prehospital settings remains controversial. Modern machine learning models may outperform traditional statistical analyses for predicting short-term mortality. Thus, we aimed to compare the mortality prediction accuracy of NEWS and random forest machine learning using prehospital vital signs. MethodsIn this retrospective study, all electronic ambulance mission reports between 2008 and 2015 in a single EMS system were collected. Adult patients (≥ 18 years) were included in the analysis. Random forest models with and without blood glucose were compared to the traditional NEWS for predicting one-day mortality. A ten-fold cross-validation method was applied to train and validate the random forest models. ResultsA total of 26,458 patients were included in the study of whom 278 (1.0%) died within one day of ambulance mission. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for one-day mortality was 0.836 (95% CI, 0.810−0.860) for NEWS, 0.858 (95% CI, 0.832−0.883) for a random forest trained with NEWS variables only and 0.868 (0.843−0.892) for a random forest trained with NEWS variables and blood glucose. ConclusionA random forest algorithm trained with NEWS variables was superior to traditional NEWS for predicting one-day mortality in adult prehospital patients, although the risk of selection bias must be acknowledged. The inclusion of blood glucose in the model further improved its predictive performance.

Efficacy of prehospital National Early Warning Score to predict outpatient disposition at an emergency department of a Japanese tertiary hospital: a retrospective study

ObjectivesThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS) was originally developed to assess hospitalised patients in the UK. We examined whether the NEWS could be applied to patients transported by ambulance in...

Can the prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 identify patients at risk of in-hospital early mortality? A prospective, multicenter cohort study

BackgroundThe National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) scores can help identify clinical deterioration. ObjectiveTo assess the predictive capacity of the NEWS2 at prehospital level for the detection of early mortality in the hospital. MethodsProspective multicenter cohort study, in which we compiled a database of observed vital signs between March 1, 2018 and May 30, 2019.We collected demographic data, vital signs (respiration rate, oxygen saturation, supplemental oxygen, temperature, systolic blood pressure, heart rate and level of consciousness), prehospital diagnosis and hospital mortality data. We calculated the AUROC of the NEWS2 for early mortality. ResultsWe included a total of 2335 participants. Median age was 69 years (IQR 54–81 years). The AUC for mortality within one day was 0.862 (95%CI:0.78–0.93), within two days 0.885 (95%CI:0.84–0.92) and within seven days 0.835 (95%CI:0.79–0.87) (in all cases, p<0.001). ConclusionsThe NEWS2 performed at prehospital level is a bedside tool for predicting early hospital mortality.

A Multicenter Observational Prospective Cohort Study of Association of the Prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 and Hospital Triage with Early Mortality

Aim of the Study To evaluate the ability of the prehospital National Early Warning Score 2 scale (NEWS2) to predict early mortality (within 48 hours) after the index event based on the triage priority assigned for any cause in the emergency department. Methods This is a multicenter longitudinal observational cohort study on patients attending Advanced Life Support units and transferred to the emergency department of their reference hospital. We collected demographic, physiological, and clinical variables, main diagnosis, and hospital triage level as well as mortality. The main outcome variable was mortality from any cause within two days of the index event. Results Between April 1 and November 30, 2018, a total of 1054 patients were included in our study. Early mortality within the first 48 hours after the index event affected 55 patients (5.2%), of which 23 cases (41.8%) had causes of cardiovascular origin. In the stratification by triage levels, the AUC of the NEWS2 obtained for short-term mortality varied between 0.77 (95% CI: 0.65-0.89) for level I and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.79-1) for level III. Conclusions The Prehospital Emergency Medical Services should evaluate the implementation of the NEWS2 as a routine evaluation, which, together with the structured hospital triage system, effectively serves to predict early mortality and detect high-risk patients.

Comparison of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) and the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) for predicting admission and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients in the pre-hospital setting and in the emergency department.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the pre-hospital National Early Warning Score (pNEWS) and the pre-hospital Modified Early Warning Score (pMEWS) for predicting admission and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). We also compare the value of the pNEWS with that of the ED NEWS (eNEWS) and ED MEWS (eMEWS) for predicting admission and in-hospital mortality. This retrospective, single-centre observational study was carried out in the ED of Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital, in Chiba, Japan, from 1st April 2017 to 31st March 2018. All patients aged 65 years or older were included in this study. The pNEWS/eNEWS were derived from seven common physiological vital signs: respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, the presence of inhaled oxygen parameters, body temperature, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive (AVPU) score, whereas the pMEWS/eMEWS were derived from six common physiological vital signs: respiratory rate, peripheral oxygen saturation, body temperature, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate and AVPU score. Discrimination was assessed by plotting the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The median pNEWS, pMEWS, eNEWS and eMEWS were significantly higher at admission than at discharge (p < 0.001). The median pNEWS, pMEWS, eNEWS and eMEWS of non-survivors were significantly higher than those of the survivors (p < 0.001). The AUC for predicting admission was 0.559 for the pNEWS and 0.547 for the pMEWS. There was no significant difference between the AUCs of the pNEWS and the pMEWS for predicting admission (p = 0.102). The AUCs for predicting in-hospital mortality were 0.678 for the pNEWS and 0.652 for the pMEWS. There was no significant difference between the AUCs of the pNEWS and the pMEWS for predicting in-hospital mortality (p = 0.081). The AUC for predicting admission was 0.628 for the eNEWS and 0.591 for the eMEWS. The AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the eMEWS for predicting admission (p < 0.001). The AUC for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.789 for the eNEWS and 0.720 for the eMEWS. The AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the eMEWS for predicting in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001). For admission and in-hospital mortality, the AUC of the eNEWS was significantly greater than that of the pNEWS (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), and the AUC of the eMEWS was significantly greater than that of the pMEWS (p < 0.01, p < 0.05). Our single-centre study has demonstrated the low utility of the pNEWS and the pMEWS as predictors of admission and in-hospital mortality in elderly patients, whereas the eNEWS and the eMEWS predicted admission and in-hospital mortality more accurately. Evidence from multicentre studies is needed before introducing pre-hospital versions of risk-scoring systems.

Prehospital National Early Warning Score predicts early mortality.

National Early Warning Score (NEWS) has been shown to be the best early warning score to predict in-hospital mortality but there is limited information on its predictive value in a prehospital setting. The aim of the current study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of NEWS in a prehospital setting using large population-based databases in terms of short-term mortality. We calculated the NEWS scores from retrospective prehospital electronic patient record data and analysed their possible relationship to mortality. We included all patient records for patients 18years or older with sufficient prehospital data to calculate NEWS from 17 August 2008 to 18 December 2015 encountered by the emergency medical services (EMS) in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Finland. The primary outcome measure was death within 1day of EMS dispatch. 35800 patients were included. Their mean (SD) age was 65.8 (19.9) years. The median value of NEWS was 3 (IQR 1-6). The primary outcome of death within 1day of EMS dispatch occurred in 378 (1.1%) cases. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for primary outcome of death within 1day was 0.840 (95% CI 0.823-0.858). AUROC for 1day mortality in trauma subgroup was 0.901 (95% CI 0.859-0.942). Prehospital NEWS predicts mortality within 1 day of EMS dispatch with good diagnostic accuracy.

Does the prehospital National Early Warning Score predict the short-term mortality of unselected emergency patients?

ObjectivesThe prehospital research field has focused on studying patient survival in cardiac arrest, as well as acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and trauma. There is little known about the overall short-term mortality and its predictability in unselected prehospital patients. This study examines whether a prehospital National Early Warning Score (NEWS) predicts 1-day and 30-day mortalities.MethodsData from all emergency medical service (EMS) situations were coupled to the mortality data obtained from the Causes of Death Registry during a six-month period in Northern Finland. NEWS values were calculated from first clinical parameters obtained on the scene and patients were categorized to the low, medium and high-risk groups accordingly. Sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values (PPVs), negative predictive values (NPVs), and likelihood ratios (PLRs and NLRs) were calculated for 1-day and 30-day mortalities at the cut-off risks.ResultsA total of 12,426 EMS calls were included in the study. The overall 1-day and 30-day mortalities were 1.5 and 4.3%, respectively. The 1-day mortality rate for NEWS values ≤12 was lower than 7% and for values ≥13 higher than 20%. The high-risk NEWS group had sensitivities for 1-day and 30-day mortalities 0.801 (CI 0.74–0.86) and 0.42 (CI 0.38–0.47), respectively.ConclusionIn prehospital environment, the high risk NEWS category was associated with 1-day mortality well above that of the medium and low risk NEWS categories. This effect was not as noticeable for 30-day mortality. The prehospital NEWS may be useful tool for recognising patients at early risk of death, allowing earlier interventions and responds to these patients.

Pre-hospital National Early Warning Score (NEWS) is associated with in-hospital mortality and critical care unit admission: A cohort study.

BackgroundNational Early Warning Score (NEWS) is increasingly used in UK hospitals. However, there is only limited evidence to support the use of pre-hospital early warning scores. We hypothesised that pre-hospital NEWS was associated with death or critical care escalation within the first 48 h of hospital stay.MethodsPlanned secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study at a single UK teaching hospital. Consecutive medical ward admissions over a 20-day period were included in the study. Data were collected from ambulance report forms, medical notes and electronic patient records. Pre-hospital NEWS was calculated retrospectively. The primary outcome was a composite of death or critical care unit escalation within 48 h of hospital admission. The secondary outcome was length of hospital stay.Results189 patients were included in the analysis. The median pre-hospital NEWS was 3 (IQR 1–5). 13 patients (6.9%) died or were escalated to the critical care unit within 48 h of hospital admission. Pre-hospital NEWS was associated with death or critical care unit escalation (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04–1.51; p = 0.02), but NEWS on admission to hospital was more strongly associated with this outcome (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.18–1.97, p < 0.01). Neither was associated with hospital length of stay.ConclusionPre-hospital NEWS was associated with death or critical care unit escalation within 48 h of hospital admission. NEWS could be used by ambulance crews to assist in the early triage of patients requiring hospital treatment or rapid transport. Further cohort studies or trials in large samples are required before implementation.

The accuracy of acuity scoring tools to predict 24-h mortality in traumatic brain injury patients: A guide to triage criteria

Background and aimPrompt identification of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is vital for patients in critical condition; however, it is not clear which acuity scoring tools are associated with short-term mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of acuity scoring tools and 24-h mortality among TBI patients in both prehospital and hospital settings. MethodsThis study was an observational, prospective cohort, in which patients with TBI were followed from the accident scene to the hospital. Vital signs and acuity scoring tools, including the Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), Shock Index (SI), Modified Shock Index (MSI) and Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS), were collected both on the scene as well as at the hospital. A logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of clinical parameters on the likelihood of survival of patients with TBI regarding 24-h mortality. Results:A total of 185 patients were included in this study. The mortality rate was 14% (25/185). The logistic regression model was statistically significant at χ2=60.8, p=0.001. A hierarchical forward stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that age, hospital RTS and prehospital NEWS significantly improved mortality predictions. The model explained the 51.2% variance in survival of patients with TBI. ConclusionsThe NEWS and the RTS may be used to triage TBI patients for prehospital and hospital emergency care, respectively. Therefore, because traditional vital signs criteria may be of limited use for the triage of TBI patients, it is recommended that acuity scoring tools be used in such cases.

Can the prehospital National Early Warning Score identify patients most at risk from subsequent deterioration?

IntroductionThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS) aids the early recognition of those at risk of becoming critically ill. NEWS has been recommended for use by ambulance services, but very little...

Validation of the National Early Warning Score in the prehospital setting

BackgroundEarly intervention and response to deranged physiological parameters in the critically ill patient improves outcomes. A National Early Warning Score (NEWS) based on physiological observations has been developed for use throughout the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK. Although a good predictor of mortality and deterioration in inpatients, its performance in the prehospital setting is largely untested. This study aimed to assess the validity of the NEWS in unselected prehospital patients. MethodsAll clinical observations taken by emergency ambulance crews transporting patients to a single hospital were collated along with information relating to hospital outcome over a two month period. The performance of the NEWS in identifying the endpoints of 48h and 30 day mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and a combined endpoint of 48h mortality or ICU admission was analysed. Results1684 patients were analysed. All three of the primary endpoints and the combined endpoint were associated with higher NEWS scores (p<0.01 for each). The medium-risk NEWS group was associated with a statistically significant increase in ICU admission (RR=2.466, 95% CI 1.0–6.09), but not in-hospital mortality relative to the low risk group. The high risk NEWS group had significant increases in 48h mortality (RR 35.32 [10.08–123.7]), 30 day mortality (RR 6.7 [3.79–11.88]), and ICU admission (5.43 [2.29–12.89]). Similar results were noted when trauma and non-trauma patients were analysed separately. ConclusionsElevated NEWS among unselected prehospital patients is associated with a higher incidence of adverse outcomes. Calculation of prehospital NEWS may facilitate earlier recognition of deteriorating patients, early involvement of senior Emergency Department staff and appropriate critical care.