By: Abbey Bracken, Steven Lane, Sarah Siner, Dawn Jones, Caroline Lambert, Fulya Mehta, Kien Eyton-Chong, Peter Davis, John Fitzsimons, Emma Lim, Linda Clerihew, Bernie Carter, Gerri Sefton
Background Paediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) enhance patient safety, by focused monitoring of vital signs to identify children at risk of deteriorating. However, there is an acknowledged need for standardisation. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of seven PEWS (Alder Hey, Bedside, Bristol, Irish, Newcastle, Scottish and the proposed National PEWS for England (v3)) utilised in clinical practice in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The primary outcome was occurrence of a critical deterioration event (CDE) in hospitalised children, and secondary outcome was 72-hour hospital mortality.


