Implementation of the Pediatric Early
Warning Scoring System on a Pediatric
Hematology/Oncology Unit
Abstract
Despite improved outcomes for pediatric Hematology/Oncology patients over the past 15-20 years, sepsis and other
acute events continue to cause serious illness in these children. Implementing a pediatric early warning scoring tool
(PEWS) with an associated multi-disciplinary action algorithm in a pediatric Hematology/Oncology unit helped to
remove barriers that prevented timely referral of children who are clinically deteriorating and requiring immediate
help, enhanced multi-disciplinary team communication, and has led to a more than 3-fold increase in days between
codes on the Hematology/Oncology unit.