An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation

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dc.contributor.authorBuys, H
dc.contributor.authorMuloiwa, R
dc.contributor.authorWestwood, C
dc.contributor.authorRichardson, D
dc.contributor.authorCheema, B
dc.contributor.authorWestwood, A
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-08T07:18:02Z
dc.date.available2021-10-08T07:18:02Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractObjective. To evaluate the efficacy of an adapted Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) tool at a children’s hospital. Design. A two-armed descriptive study. Setting. Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Methods. Triage data on 1 309 children from October 2007 and July 2009 were analysed. The number of children in each triage category (red (emergency), orange (urgent or priority) and green (non-urgent)) and their disposal were evaluated. Results. 1. The October 2007 series: 902 children aged 5 days - 15 years were evaluated. Their median age was 20 (interquartile range (IQR) 7 - 50) months, and 58.8% (n=530) were triaged green, 37.5% (n=338) orange and 3.8% (n=34) red. Over 90% of children in the green category were discharged (478/530), while 32.5% of children triaged orange (110/338) and 52.9% of children triaged red (18/34) were admitted. There was a significant increase in admission rate for each triage colour change from green through orange to red after adjustment for age category (risk ratio (RR) 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2 - 3.1). 2. The July 2009 cohort: 407 children with a median age of 22 months (IQR 7 - 53 months) were enrolled. Twelve children (2.9%) were triaged red, 187 (45.9%) orange and 208 (51.1%) green. A quarter (101/407) of the children triaged were admitted: 91.7% (11/12) from the red category and 36.9% (69/187) from the orange category were admitted, while 89.9% of children in the green category (187/208) were discharged. After adjusting for age category, admissions increased by more than 300% for every change in triage acuity (RR 3.2; 95% CI 2.5 - 4.1). Conclusions. The adapted ETAT process may serve as a reliable triage tool for busy paediatric medical emergency units in resource-constrained countries and could be evaluated further in community emergency settings.
dc.identifier.apacitationBuys, H., Muloiwa, R., Westwood, C., Richardson, D., Cheema, B., & Westwood, A. (2013). An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation. <i>South African Medical Journal</i>, 103(3), 161 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBuys, H, R Muloiwa, C Westwood, D Richardson, B Cheema, and A Westwood "An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation." <i>South African Medical Journal</i> 103, 3. (2013): 161 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBuys, H., Muloiwa, R., Westwood, C., Richardson, D., Cheema, B. & Westwood, A. 2013. An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation. <i>South African Medical Journal.</i> 103(3):161 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0038-2469
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Buys, H AU - Muloiwa, R AU - Westwood, C AU - Richardson, D AU - Cheema, B AU - Westwood, A AB - Objective. To evaluate the efficacy of an adapted Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) tool at a children’s hospital. Design. A two-armed descriptive study. Setting. Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa. Methods. Triage data on 1 309 children from October 2007 and July 2009 were analysed. The number of children in each triage category (red (emergency), orange (urgent or priority) and green (non-urgent)) and their disposal were evaluated. Results. 1. The October 2007 series: 902 children aged 5 days - 15 years were evaluated. Their median age was 20 (interquartile range (IQR) 7 - 50) months, and 58.8% (n=530) were triaged green, 37.5% (n=338) orange and 3.8% (n=34) red. Over 90% of children in the green category were discharged (478/530), while 32.5% of children triaged orange (110/338) and 52.9% of children triaged red (18/34) were admitted. There was a significant increase in admission rate for each triage colour change from green through orange to red after adjustment for age category (risk ratio (RR) 2.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2 - 3.1). 2. The July 2009 cohort: 407 children with a median age of 22 months (IQR 7 - 53 months) were enrolled. Twelve children (2.9%) were triaged red, 187 (45.9%) orange and 208 (51.1%) green. A quarter (101/407) of the children triaged were admitted: 91.7% (11/12) from the red category and 36.9% (69/187) from the orange category were admitted, while 89.9% of children in the green category (187/208) were discharged. After adjusting for age category, admissions increased by more than 300% for every change in triage acuity (RR 3.2; 95% CI 2.5 - 4.1). Conclusions. The adapted ETAT process may serve as a reliable triage tool for busy paediatric medical emergency units in resource-constrained countries and could be evaluated further in community emergency settings. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 3 J1 - South African Medical Journal LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2013 SM - 0038-2469 T1 - An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation TI - An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBuys H, Muloiwa R, Westwood C, Richardson D, Cheema B, Westwood A. An adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation. South African Medical Journal. 2013;103(3):161 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34888.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.sourceSouth African Medical Journal
dc.source.journalissue3
dc.source.journalvolume103
dc.source.pagination161 - 177
dc.source.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.6020
dc.subject.otherTriage
dc.subject.otherchildren
dc.subject.otherETAT
dc.titleAn adapted triage tool (ETAT) at Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital Medical Emergency Unit, Cape Town: An evaluation
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceJournal Article
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