scholarly journals The use of a dedicated neurological triage system improves process times and resource utilization: a prospective observational study from an interdisciplinary emergency department

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Hoyer ◽  
Patrick Stein ◽  
Hans-Werner Rausch ◽  
Angelika Alonso ◽  
Simon Nagel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Prospective Observational Study ◽  
Neurological Symptoms ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Triage System ◽  
Treatment Processes ◽  
Associated Symptoms ◽  
Hospital Resources ◽  
Laboratory Examinations

Abstract Background Patients with neurological symptoms have been contributing to the increasing rates of emergency department (ED) utilization in recent years. Existing triage systems represent neurological symptoms rather crudely, neglecting subtler but relevant aspects like temporal evolution or associated symptoms. A designated neurological triage system could positively impact patient safety by identifying patients with urgent need for medical attention and prevent inadequate utilization of ED and hospital resources. Methods We compared basic demographic information, chief complaint/presenting symptom, door-to-doctor time and length of stay (LOS) as well as utilization of ED resources of patients presenting with neurological symptoms or complaints during a one-month period before as well as after the introduction of the Heidelberg Neurological Triage System (HEINTS) in our interdisciplinary ED. In a second step, we compared diagnostic and treatment processes for both time periods according to assigned acuity. Results During the two assessment periods, 299 and 300 patients were evaluated by a neurologist, respectively. While demographic features were similar for both groups, overall LOS (p < 0.001) was significantly shorter, while CT (p = 0.023), laboratory examinations (p = 0.006), ECG (p = 0.011) and consultations (p = 0.004) were performed significantly less often when assessing with HEINTS. When considering acuity, an epileptic seizure was less frequently evaluated as acute with HEINTS than in the pre-HEINTS phase (p = 0.002), while vertigo patients were significantly more often rated as acute with HEINTS (p < 0.001). In all cases rated as acute, door-to-doctor-time (DDT) decreased from 41.0 min to 17.7 min (p < 0.001), and treatment duration decreased from 304.3 min to 149.4 min (p < 0.001) after introduction of HEINTS triage. Conclusion A dedicated triage system for patients with neurological complaints reduces DDT, LOS and ED resource utilization, thereby improving ED diagnostic and treatment processes.

scholarly journals Can triage correctly stratify cardiogenic syncope in patients admitted to the emergency department for a transitory loss of consciousness?

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Zaboli ◽  
S Sibilio ◽  
G Magnarelli ◽  
E Toccolini ◽  
T Marsoner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Receiver Operating Characteristic ◽  
Operating Characteristic ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Primary Study ◽  
Loss Of Consciousness ◽  
Triage System ◽  
Cardiogenic Syncope ◽  
Associated Symptoms ◽  
Receiver Operating

Abstract Background The Manchester Triage System (MTS) is the most popular validated triage system in Europe. It allows the stratification of the large volume of patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) into five increasing risk categories, assigning higher priority to the most serious patients [1]. Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness of the MTS in stratifying patients admitted to the ED for syncopal transitory loss of consciousness (TLOC) and correctly identifying cardiogenic syncope. Methods All patients consecutively evaluated in the ED between 1 January 2017 and 1 July 2019 for a TLOC episode were retrospectively considered. TLOCs were retrospectively classified according to the guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) [2]. Syncopal TLOCs were separated from non-syncopal TLOCs. Demographic and baseline characteristics of all patients were recorded. Patients were divided into two groups for comparison according to the MTS code assigned at triage: blue/green/yellow (low priority) versus orange/red (high priority). Considering only syncopal TLOCs, the primary study outcome was the presence of cardiogenic syncope as defined in the ESC guidelines. The performance of the MTS was evaluated using a 2x2 table, deriving sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, and through analysing receiver operating characteristic curves. Sensitivity analyses were also performed on patient subgroups. Results A total of 2,291 patients with TLOC were considered (83% low priority versus 17% high priority). Of these, 90.2% (2,066/2,291) presented syncopal TLOC. Among the patients with syncopal TLOC, 85.7% (1,770/2,066) were assigned a low priority code, while 14.3% (296/2,066) were given high priority. Patients with a high priority code were older (median age 66 versus 77 years; p&lt;0.001), presented more altered vital signs (p&lt;0.001), presented more associated symptoms (p&lt;0.001) and presented more cardiac comorbidities (p&lt;0.001). Overall, cardiogenic syncope was present in 7.5% (154/2,066) of patients with syncopal TLOC. Of these, 55.2% (85/154) were stratified with a low priority code, while 44.8% (69/154) were stratified with a high priority code (p&lt;0.001). The MTS presented a sensitivity of 44.8%, a specificity of 88.1% and an accuracy of 84.9%. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the prioritisation of cardiogenic syncope through MTS codes was 0.683. Sensitivity analyses on specific subgroups of patients, such as those with or without other associated symptoms in triage or major cardiac comorbidities, revealed comparable performance. Conclusions Syncopal TLOC is an insidious clinical condition. Currently, limited information is available about triage systems and the correct prioritisation of syncope. Although the MTS has demonstrated good performance for other cardiac symptoms, its performance is not acceptable for syncopal TLOC [3]. Improvements are needed to optimise triage systems for syncopal TLOC. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

scholarly journals Performance of the Manchester triage system in older emergency department patients: a retrospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffie H. A. Brouns ◽  
Lisette Mignot-Evers ◽  
Floor Derkx ◽  
Suze L. Lambooij ◽  
Jeanne P. Dieleman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Triage System ◽  
Manchester Triage System ◽  
Emergency Department Patients

scholarly journals 8 High Risk Care Plans Effectively Decrease Emergency Department Resource Utilization

2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. S4 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ablaihed ◽  
F. Barrueto ◽  
L. Pimentel ◽  
A. Comer ◽  
B.J. Browne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Care Plans

scholarly journals Applying quality improvement principles to improve accident and emergency department overcrowding and flow in Rwanda: a case study

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Claude Byiringiro ◽  
Rex Wong ◽  
Caroline Davis ◽  
Jeffery Williams ◽  
Joseph Becker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Triage System ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
The Impact

Few case studies exist related to hospital accident and emergency department (A&E) quality improvement efforts in lowerresourced settings. We sought to report the impact of quality improvement principles applied to A&E overcrowding and flow in the largest referral and teaching hospital in Rwanda. A pre- and post-intervention study was conducted. A linked set of strategies included reallocating room space based on patient/visitor demand and flow, redirecting traffic, establishing a patient triage system and installing white boards to facilitate communication. Two months post-implementation, the average number of patients boarding in the A&E hallways significantly decreased from 28 (pre-intervention) to zero (post-intervention), p < .001. Foot traffic per dayshift hour significantly decreased from 221 people to 160 people (28%, p < .001), and non-A&E related foot traffic decreased from 81.4% to 36.3% (45% decrease, p < .001). One hundred percent of the A&E patients have been formally triaged since the implementation of the newly established triage system. Our project used quality improvement principles to reduce the number of patients boarding in the hallways and to decrease unnecessary foot traffic in the A&E department with little investment from the hospital. Key success factors included a collaborative multidisciplinary project team, strong internal champions, data-driven analysis, evidence-based interventions, senior leadership support, and rapid application of initial implementation learnings. Results to date show the application of quality improvement principles can help hospitals in resource-limited settings improve quality of care at relatively low cost.

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