Dr. Raghavan Murugan is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Critical Care Medicine and the Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is currently the Medical Director of the Rapid Response System at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Chief of Intensive Care Unit at Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC.Dr. Joseph M. Darby is Professor of Critical Care Medicine and Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is a former Medical Director of the Rapid Response System at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is currently the Chief of Critical Care at UPMC Hamot Hospital and Co-Director of the NeuroTrauma ICU at the Presbyterian Hospital.

• Foreword Introduction to Rapid Response TeamMichael A. DeVita Part I: Rapid Response Teams1 Evolution and Evidence for Rapid Response TeamsRichard L. Simmons and Muhammad Tahseen, MD2 Rapid Response Team Organization and ActivationCarol Curio Scholle, MSN, RN 3 Leadership and Crisis ManagementBrad W. Butcher, MD Part II: Common Emergency Syndromes and Management4 In-Hospital Cardiac ArrestJonathan Elmer, MD, MS, and Abhishek Freyer, MD5 Atrial Fibrillation and Other Cardiac ArrhythmiasRinaldo Bellomo, MD, PhD, and Antoine Schneider, MD, PhD6 Hypoxemia and Respiratory FailureJeffrey K. Javed, MD, and Jason E. Moore, MD, MS 7 Seizures and Altered Mental StatusRuchira Jha, MD, Jodi Manners, MD, and Kiruba Dharaneeswaran, MD8 Hypotension and ShockChristopher K. Schott, MD, MS, RDMS, FACEP, and Jessica A. Fozard, NREMT-P, BS9 Hypertensive EmergenciesChenell Donadee, MD, and Hitesh Gidwani, MD10 Bleeding EmergenciesMichael C. Reede, MBBS, MPH, DPhil, FANZCA, FCICM, and Patrick C. Finn, MBBS. 11 Chest Pain and Acute Coronary SyndromeStephen D'Auria, MD, and Ravi Ramani, MD 12 Major TraumaLouis H. Alarcon, MD, and Patrick R.Varley, MD13 SepsisDavid T. Huang, MD, MPH, and Munish H. Lapsia, MD Part III: Special Circumstances14 Pediatric EmergenciesCameron Dezfulian, MD, Christopher M. Horvat, MD, and Melinda F. Hamilton, MD, MSc 15 Obstetric EmergenciesDavid Muigai, MD, MMM, and Amir Shamshirsaz, MD16 Behavioral Health EmergenciesRobin Valpey, MD, and Amy Crawford-Faucher, MD, FAAFP 17 Oncologic EmergenciesHarry S. Rafkin, MD 18 The Difficult AirwayDennis Phillip, DO, and Joshua Knight, MD19 Acute StrokeAlexis Steinberg, MD, and Bradley J. Molyneaux, MD, PhD 20 Pulmonary EmbolismAgnes Koczo, MD, and Belinda Rivera-Lebro, MD, MS 21 Ventricular Assist DevicesRajagopala Padmanabhan, MD, and Penny Sappington, MD 22 Management of Exsanguinating Hemorrhage: Hemostasis and Reduction Sara P. Myers, MD, MA, MS, and Matthew D. Neal, MD 23 Palliative Care Interventions: Role in Rapid Response Team EventsTaylor Lincoln, MD, Jane Schell, MD, and Shannon Haliko, MD Part IV: Emergency Procedures 24 Airway ManagementJames M. Dargin, MD, and Lillian L. Emlet, MD, MS 25 Emergency Vascular AccessRajagopala Padmanabhan, MD, and Holt N. Murray, MD26 Critical Care UltrasoundChristopher K. Schott, MD, MS, RDMS, FACEP27 Tube ThoracostomyMatthew R. Rosengart, MD, MPH Part V: Equipment28 The Emergency Crash CartSarah Martin-Cua, MBA, MSN, RN 29 Airway EquipmentLillian L. Emlet, MD, MS, and James M. Dargin, MD30 Point-of-Care TestingDouglas E. Morgan, MBA, MSN, RN, CCRN 31 Portable Monitors and DefibrillatorsRobert Bauer, MSN, CRNP, AG-ACNP-BC, and Raghavan Murugan, MD, MS Part VI: Organization and AdministrationChapter 32: Hospital PolicyCarol Curio Scholle, MSN, RN Chapter 33: Communication and Coordination of CareJeannine DiNella, RN, DNP, CCNS, and Terri Kress, RN, MSN, CEN Chapter 34: Patient Safety and Quality ImprovementLisa M. Painter, DNP, RN, Cheryl Janov, BSN, RN, and Richard L. Simmons

This guide introduces an important hospital resource. Organizational and behavioral chapters effectively summarize much of the recent literature on this topic.