RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Describe the knowledge in the literature related to factors that influence the performance of response teams. METHODS: Integrative review of the literature of articles published in Portuguese, English or Spanish between 2006 and 2016. The descriptors hospital rapid response equipment, cardiac arrest and hospital mortality were used for the search in the PubMed/Medline, Lilacs - Bireme and CINAHL bibliographic databases. RESULTS: 19 studies were included for the analysis. The results were categorized in: sociocultural barriers and institutional policies, late activation of the rapid response team, composition and/or strengthening of the team's capacity, and use of facilitating tools. The sociocultural barriers found were: the presence of interprofessional hierarchies and beliefs, the limitations of institutional policies were related to the lack of training and human resources deficit. Late activations increased mortality, duration of hospitalization, and admission to the intensive care unit. The teams composed of intensive care professionals showed a reduction in mortality and in the occurrence of cardiac arrest. The use of new tools did not promote changes in the response of the team. CONCLUSIONS: The factors found in this review influence the performance of the rapid response team. The foregoing should be taken into account to improve the survival of patients who require this type of care.