History and the Development of the
Pediatric Early Warning Scoring System
The PEWS tool and associated scoring process was
initially developed at the Royal Alexandra Children’s
Hospital and Sussex University Hospitals NHS (Monaghan,
2005). The work was based on the premise that the early
detection of children at risk for clinical deterioration
would ultimately improve patient outcomes through early
intervention, as previously demonstrated with the adult
population (Department of Health, 2002). The PEWS was
the first severity of illness score developed for children
admitted to hospital units. Prior to this time, adult-focused
risk deterioration identification processes had been used.
The PEWS identifies objective pediatric patient assessment
criteria centered on behavior, color/cardiovascular
status, and respiratory status (Monaghan, 2005; see
Figure 1). The score was designed for nursing staff to be
able to identify patients with at least a 1-hour warning
before a cardiopulmonary arrest. This would allow time to
initiate unit-based patient management and arrange transfer
to a higher acuity patient care unit, if indicated.
Parameters centering on behavior (i.e., playing/appropriate
behavior, sleeping; irritable, lethargic/confused, or
reduced response to pain; see Figure 1) were established
because behavioral changes are often associated with initial
signs of shock and easily recognized by parents.
Patient color and capillary refill were selected as cardiovascular
measures. Respiratory rate along with oxygen
requirements (defined as liters per minute) comprised the
respiratory measures (Monaghan, 2005).