Triage scales, used in inpatient emergency departments (review article)

Abstract

The article describes different types of sorting scales used in inpatient emergency departments in different countries. Triage scales are designed to optimize patient waiting times according to the severity of their medical condition in order to treat the most intense symptom as quickly as possible and reduce the negative impact on the prognosis of a long delay before starting treatment. The aim of the study is to analyze the literature data describing the scales for triage in the emergency department, their comparative characteristics, and assessment of their reliability and reliability. Material and methods. An online literature research was conducted in databases such as Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus, as well as on-line publications in Russian and English languages. The following terms were used to search for relevant literature sources: emergency department, triage, emergency severity index. A total of 813 literary sources were found, 37 of which were selected for further analysis. Inclusion criteria: studies performed in people, published in English, Russian, as well as full versions of articles. Exclusion criteria: summary of reports, newspaper publications, personal messages. Results and discussion. Analysis of the literature data allows us to judge a variety of approaches and systems of medical sorting of patients requiring emergency medical care, especially in cases of mass disasters and injuries. Analysis of existing sorting scales has shown that these scales are fivestep and adapted to the region and the health system, but there is no single universal scale. Conclusion. The introduction of structured triage by specially trained medical personnel in the emergency Department helps to accurately identify patients whose lives are at risk, especially during periods of insufficient treatment effectiveness. Therefore, five-level triage systems are recommended by national and international societies of emergency medicine. Keywords: triage, system triage, emergency severity index, emergency department.