Menu

 

Letter

National early warning score

National early warning score (NEWS) is not suitable for all patients

BMJ 2012; 345 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e5875 (Published 4 September 2012)
Cite this as: BMJ 2012;345:e5875

Get access to this article and all of bmj.com for the next 14 days

Sign up for a 14 day free trial today

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

  1. Graham M Teasdale, emeritus professor of neurosurgery1
  1. 1University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
  1. graham.teasdale{at}hotmail.co.uk

McGinlay and Pearse worry about the use of the national early warning score (NEWS) in people recovering from brain injury,1 2 but its insensitivity in people developing acute brain insults is also worrying.

In the assessment of brain dysfunction, NEWS depends solely on the “alert, verbal, pain, unresponsive (AVPU)” system. Although useful in initial triage, such simplicity is inadequate in monitoring hospital patients at risk of neurological deterioration. Crucially, AVPU findings are compressed to only …

Get access to this article and all of bmj.com for the next 14 days

Sign up for a 14 day free trial today

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Subscribe

Article access

Article access for 1 day

Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

* Prices do not include VAT

Latest comments and most commented

THIS WEEK'S POLL

Read related article

See previous polls