Evaluation of Code Blue Notifications and Their Results: A University Hospital Example

Abstract

Objective: Code blue is one of the important practices for preventing mortality and morbidity and increasing the quality of care in hospitals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the blue code notifications and their results, emphasise their importance, and determine the effectiveness and deficiencies of the application. Methods: In this study, all code blue notification forms recorded between January 1 and December 31, 2019, were examined retrospectively. Results: It was determined that code blue calls were made for 108 cases, including 61 females and 47 males, and the mean age of the patients was 56.47 ± 20.73. The accuracy rate of the code blue calls was determined as 42.6%, and 57.4% of them were made during non-working hours. Also, 15.2% of the correct code blue calls were made from dialysis and radiology units. The mean time for the teams to reach the scene was 2.83 ± 1.30 minutes, and the mean time to respond to correctly made code blue calls was 33.97 ± 17.95 minutes. It was found that 15.7% of the patients in correctly made code blue calls were exitus after the intervention. Conclusion: Early diagnosis of cardiac or respiratory arrest cases and quick and correct intervention are very important in achieving patient and employee safety. For this reason, it is necessary to continuously evaluate code blue practices, educate the staff, and organise improvement activities constantly.