The epidemiology of Medical Emergency Team calls for orthopedic patients in a teaching hospital: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background: Patients undergoing orthopedic surgery are at risk of post-operative complications and needing Medical Emergency Team (MET) review. We assessed the frequency of, and associations with MET calls in orthopedic patients, and whether this was associated with increased in-hospital morbidity and mortality. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients admitted over four years to a University teaching hospital using hospital administrative and MET call databases. Results: Amongst 6344 orthopedic patients, 55.8% were female, the median (IQR) age and Charlson comorbidity index were 66 years (47–79) and 3 (1–5), respectively. Overall, 54.5% of admissions were emergency admissions, 1130 (..