Switching Triage Systems Might Alter Sensitivity

Triage systems vary in their ability to identify both potentially high-risk patients who require urgent attention and low-risk patients who can safely wait longer for care.

Researchers retrospectively evaluated the effect of switching to a new triage system on acuity-level distributions and sensitivity for detecting patients with high-risk presentations. Records were reviewed for all patients who presented to a single academic emergency department during the 15 months before and after the ED switched from using the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) to using the Emergency Severity Index (ESI).

After the switch, patients were more likely to be triaged to lower acuity levels; the odds ratio for triage to a nonemergent acuity level with the ESI compared with the CTAS was 2.8 overall and 21.4 for patients older than 55 with a chief complaint of chest pain. Among patients with abdominal pai…

Reviewing Author

Diane M. Birnbaumer, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardSecurisyn

Editorial boardsThe Merck Manuals (Home and Physician Editions)

Diane M. Birnbaumer, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardSecurisyn

Editorial boardsThe Merck Manuals (Home and Physician Editions)