Comparison of Three Acute Care Pediatric Early Warning Scoring Tools

Pediatric Early Warning (PEW) scoring tools effectively identify hospitalized children at risk for clinical deterioration. The study compared the predictability of three previously validated PEW scoring tools. A retrospective case-control design was used that identified the PEW System Score (H. Duncan, J. Hutchison, & C. Parshuram, 2006) as a stronger predictor of cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) than either the PEW Tool (C. Haines, M. Perrott, & P. Weir, 2006) or the Bedside PEW System Score (C. Parshuram, J. Hutchison, & K. Middaugh, 2009). The PEW System Score (H. Duncan, J. Hutchison, & C. Parshuram, 2006) demonstrated a greater sensitivity (86.6%) and specificity (72.9%) at a score of five. The PEW System Score (H. Duncan, J. Hutchison, & C. Parshuram, 2006) could benefit healthcare providers in potentially averting CPA.