Background: Modified Early Warning (MEW) scoring system is a simple bed-side tool which can be administered by a nurse. We conducted this study to look at the utility of a MEW scoreis a marker of in-hospital outcomes of acutely ill adult medical patients and can be effectively utilize for early detection of warning signs. Methods: One hundred and twelve age-matched patients who were admitted the medical service from the emergency room of our hospital over a 6 month (August 2010 - February 2011) period were included. MEW scores of these patients were calculated once at the time of admission; the patients were followed till their discharge or death. Fischer’s exact test was used to calculate statistical differences in outcome between the groups.
Results: Patients were categorized into 4 groups based on their MEW Scores: group 1:0-1, group 2: 2-3, group 3:4-5 and group 4: score of >5;26 patients died. There was no mortality in group 1. Mortality was significantly higher in group 4 (MEWS>5) when compared with group 2 (MEWS 2-3, p= Conclusions: A single calculation of MEWS at the time of admission is a reliable predictor of in-hospital mortality in our patients. Acutely ill patients and those at imminent risk of deterioration are identified quickly on the basis of clinical criteria alone, making MEWS a cost-effective tool in triaging patients, prioritizing admission to high dependency areas and predicting outcomes. MEWS can be used at secondary and tertiary care centers in a resource-poor country to identify patients in need of urgent intensive care