Medical emergency teams: Is there M.E.R.I.T?

Background Many deaths, cardiac arrests, and unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are preceded by failure to recognize deteriorating vital signs1,2 or trigger intervention.3,4 Furthermore, survival following cardiovascular collapse is low, whereas early response likely improves survival.5,6 As such, in-hospital medical emergency teams (MET) were proposed. Physiologic triggers (see below) lead to their activation.