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Table 2 Research difficulties with the rapid response system

From: Bench-to-bedside review: The MET syndrome – the challenges of researching and adopting medical emergency teams

Difficulties with researching the rapid response system

   Dismisses real-life relevance and common sense

   Dependence of randomised trial methodology on numerical strength, which requires patient randomisation

   Hawthorne effect improves outcomes in control patients

   Unethical to randomly assign patients to 'placebo'

   Cluster randomisation of hospitals requires large numbers of centres

   Before-and-after studies lack rigour and generalisability