The South African Triage Scale (adult version) provides reliable acuity ratings

Emergency care visits at a South African hospital: Implications for healthcare services and policy

BACKGROUND

 A robust knowledge on the pattern of use of emergency care resources not only serves as an indicator of universal access to care but also provides a basis for quality improvement within the health system. This study was undertaken to describe the pattern of emergency room visits at Brits District Hospital (BDH) in North West province, South Africa. The objectives of this study were to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of emergency department (ED) users and other patterns of ED use.

METHODS

 This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that was conducted at a district hospital. All patients who reported for emergency care in the ED in 2016 were eligible for the study. Data were extracted and analysed from a systematic sample of 355 clinical notes and hospital administrative records.

RESULTS

 The age group that visited the ED most frequently (25.3%) was 25-34 years old. A high proportion of the ED users (60%) were self-referred, and only 38% were transported by the emergency medical response services (EMRS). Few (5.6%) presentations were of a non-urgent nature. Trauma-related conditions accounted for the most frequent presentation at the ED (36.5%).

CONCLUSION

 Although most ED users were self-referred, their clinical presentations were appropriate and underscore the need for policy strategies to reduce the burden of trauma in the catchment populationContribution: The study findings may have an impact on future health policies by providing decision-makers with baseline information on the pattern of use of ED resources, ensuring better resource deployment and greater access to care.

The new injury severity score underestimates true injury severity in a resource-constrained setting

Background

The new injury severity score (NISS) is widely used within trauma outcomes research. NISS is a composite anatomic severity score derived from the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) protocol. It has been postulated that NISS underestimates trauma severity in resource-constrained settings, which may contribute to erroneous research conclusions. We formally compare NISS to an expert panel's assessment of injury severity in South Africa.

Methods

This was a retrospective chart review of adult trauma patients seen in a tertiary trauma center. Randomly selected medical records were reviewed by an AIS-certified rater who assigned an AIS severity score for each anatomic injury. A panel of five South African trauma experts independently reviewed the same charts and assigned consensus severity scores using a similar scale for comparability. NISS was calculated as the sum of the squares of the three highest assigned severity scores per patient. The difference in average NISS between rater and expert panel was assessed using a multivariable linear mixed effects regression adjusted for patient demographics, injury mechanism and type.

Results

Of 49 patients with 190 anatomic injuries, the majority were male (n = 38), the average age was 36 (range 18-80), with either a penetrating (n = 23) or blunt (n = 26) injury, resulting in 4 deaths. Mean NISS was 16 (SD 15) for the AIS rater compared to 28 (SD 20) for the expert panel. Adjusted for potential confounders, AIS rater NISS was on average 11 points (95 % CI: 7, 15) lower than the expert panel NISS (p < 0.001). Injury type was an effect modifier, with the difference between the AIS rater and expert panel being greater in penetrating versus blunt injury (16 vs. 7; p = 0.04). Crush injury was not well-captured by AIS protocol.

Conclusion

NISS may under-estimate the 'true' injury severity in a middle-income country trauma hospital, particularly for patients with penetrating injury.

Profile and triage validity of trauma patients triaged green: a prospective cohort study from a secondary care hospital in India

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the profile of non-urgent patients triaged 'green', as part of a triage trial in the emergency department (ED) of a secondary care hospital in India. The secondary aim was to validate the triage trial with the South African Triage Score (SATS).

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

A secondary care hospital in Mumbai, India.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients aged 18 years and above with a history of trauma defined as having any of the external causes of morbidity and mortality listed in block V01-Y36, chapter XX of the International Classification of Disease version 10 codebook, triaged green between July 2016 and November 2019.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcome measures were mortality within 24 hours, 30 days and mistriage.

RESULTS

We included 4135 trauma patients triaged green. The mean age of patients was 32.8 (±13.1) years, and 77% were males. The median (IQR) length of stay of admitted patients was 3 (13) days. Half the patients had a mild Injury Severity Score (3-8), with the majority of injuries being blunt (98%). Of the patients triaged green by clinicians, three-quarters (74%) were undertriaged on validating with SATS. On telephonic follow-up, two patients were reported dead whereas one died while admitted in hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the need for implementation and evaluation of training in trauma triage systems that use physiological parameters, including pulse, systolic blood pressure and Glasgow Coma Scale, for the in-hospital first responders in the EDs.

Severity of illness and mortality among children admitted to a tertiary referral hospital in Botswana: A secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study

Objectives

Data on triage practices of children admitted to Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana is limited. The inpatient triage, assessment, and treatment score was developed for low resource settings to predict mortality in children. We assess its performance among children admitted to Princess Marina Hospital and their demographic, clinical, and risk factors for death.

Methods

This was a secondary data analysis of a prospective cohort study comprising 299 children ages 1 month to 13 years admitted June to September 2018. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were used. Sensitivity and specificity data were generated for the inpatient triage, assessment, and treatment score.

Results

Thirteen children died (13/284, 4.6%). Comorbidity (adjusted odds ratio 4.0, p = 0.020) and high inpatient triage, assessment, and treatment score (adjusted odds ratio 5.0, p = 0.017) increased odds of death. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.81. Using inpatient triage, assessment, and treatment cutoff of 4, the sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio were 31%, 94%, and 5.0, respectively.

Conclusion

Implementing the inpatient triage, assessment, and treatment score in low resource settings may improve identification, treatment, and evaluation of the sickest children.

Rescue Activity of a Civilian Helicopter Emergency Medical Service in the Western Cape, South Africa: A 5-Year Retrospective Review

INTRODUCTION

Helicopter search and rescue (SAR) in Africa is conducted primarily by military organizations. Since 2002, the Western Cape of South Africa has had a dedicated contracted civilian helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) conducting air ambulance, terrestrial, and aquatic rescue. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the operations of an African helicopter rescue service.

METHODS

A 5-y retrospective review of the terrestrial and aquatic helicopter rescue activity of a civilian-operated HEMS in the Western Cape, South Africa, from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2016, was conducted. Data were extracted from the organization's operational database, aviation documents, rescue reports, and patient care records. Patient demographics and activity at the time of rescue, temporal and geographical distribution, crewing compositions, patient injury, triage, clinical interventions, and rescue techniques were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 581 SAR missions were conducted, of which 451 were terrestrial and 130 were aquatic rescues. The highest volume of rescues was conducted within the urban Cape Peninsula. Hoisting using a rescue harness was the most common rescue technique used. A total of 644 patients were rescued, with no or minor injuries representing 79% of the sample. Trauma (33%, 196/644) was the most common medical reason for rescue, with lower limb trauma predominant (15%, 90/644). The most common clinical interventions performed were intravenous access (n=108, 24%), spinal immobilization (n=92, 21%), splinting (n=76, 17%), and analgesia administration (n=58, 13%).

CONCLUSIONS

The rescue techniques utilized are similar to those described in high-income settings. Uninjured patients comprised the majority of the patients rescued.

Comparison of the novel WEst coast System for Triage (WEST) with Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS©): an observational pilot study

Background

Most Swedish emergency departments (ED) use the triage system Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS©), which over time has proven to prioritize patients to higher triage levels. When many patients are prioritized to high triage levels, challenges with identifying true high-risk patients and increased waiting time for these patients has emerged. In order to achieve a more balanced triage in relation to actual medical risk, the triage system WEst coast System for Triage (WEST) was developed, based on the South African Triage Scale (SATS). The aim of this study was to perform an initial evaluation of the novel emergency triage system WEST compared to the existing RETTS©.

Methods

Both RETTS© and WEST are five level triage systems illustrated by colors. Nurses from each of the three adult EDs of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg and the ambulance service assessed and triaged 1510 patients according to RETTS© and immediately thereafter filled out the WEST triage form. Data from each triage report were analyzed and grouped according to the triage color, chief complaint, and outcome of each patient. Data on discharge categories and events within 72 h were also collected. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistical methods.

Results

In general, WEST displayed lower levels of prioritization compared to RETTS©, with no observed impact on patients’ medical outcomes. In RETTS© orange triage level, approximately 50% of the patients were down prioritized in WEST to yellow or green triage levels. Also, in the RETTS© yellow triage level, more than 55% were down prioritized to green triage level in WEST. The number of patients who experienced a serious event during the first 72 h was few. Three patients died, these were all prioritized to red triage level in RETTS©. In WEST two of these patients were prioritized to red triage level and one to orange triage level. All these patients were admitted to hospital before deterioration.

Conclusions

WEST may reduce over prioritization at the ED, especially in the orange and yellow triage levels of RETTS©, with no observed increase in medical risk. WEST can be recommended for a clinical comparative study.

Performance of the South African triage score among HIV positive individuals presenting to an emergency department

Introduction

Over a quarter of patients presenting to South African Emergency Centres (EC) have concurrent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), yet it is unclear how this impacts their presenting complaints, the severity of illness, and overall resource needs in the EC. The primary objective of this study was to compare the performance of the South African Triage Score (SATS) in people living with HIV (PLWH) compared to HIV-negative patients. Secondary objectives included comparing the presentation characteristics and resource utilisation of these populations.

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Livingstone Hospital EC, Gqeberha, South Africa, to compare triage designation and clinical outcomes in PLWH and HIV-negative patients. In this six-week study, all eligible patients received point-of-care HIV testing and extensive data abstraction, including SATS designation and EC clinical course. Descriptive statistical analysis was completed, and a log-binomial model was used to examine the association between HIV status and clinical outcomes using crude (unadjPR) and adjusted prevalence ratios (adjPR).

Results

During the study period, 755 adult patients who consented to a POC HIV test were enrolled, of which 193 (25.6%) were HIV positive. HIV-positive patients were significantly more likely to be admitted compared to their HIV-negative counterparts when triaged as low acuity (adjPR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14-1.92, (p=0.003)). HIV-positive patients were also significantly more likely to receive laboratory testing when triaged as low acuity (adjPR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.59 (p=0.006)) and as high acuity (adjPR 1.38, 95% CI 1.08-1.59 (p=0.034)) compared to HIV negative patients of the same triage categories.

Conclusion

In our study, PLWH, compared to HIV-negative patients in the same category, were more likely to be admitted and require more EC resources, thus alluding to possible under triage of HIV-positive patients under the current SATS algorithm.

The epidemiology and outcomes of prolonged trauma care (EpiC) study: methodology of a prospective multicenter observational study in the Western Cape of South Africa

Background

Deaths due to injuries exceed 4.4 million annually, with over 90% occurring in low-and middle-income countries. A key contributor to high trauma mortality is prolonged trauma-to-treatment time. Earlier receipt of medical care following an injury is critical to better patient outcomes. Trauma epidemiological studies can identify gaps and opportunities to help strengthen emergency care systems globally, especially in lower income countries, and among military personnel wounded in combat. This paper describes the methodology of the “Epidemiology and Outcomes of Prolonged Trauma Care (EpiC)” study, which aims to investigate how the delivery of resuscitative interventions and their timeliness impacts the morbidity and mortality outcomes of patients with critical injuries in South Africa.

Methods

The EpiC study is a prospective, multicenter cohort study that will be implemented over a 6-year period in the Western Cape, South Africa. Data collected will link pre- and in-hospital care with mortuary reports through standardized clinical chart abstraction and will provide longitudinal documentation of the patient’s clinical course after injury. The study will enroll an anticipated sample of 14,400 injured adults. Survival and regression analysis will be used to assess the effects of critical early resuscitative interventions (airway, breathing, circulatory, and neurologic) and trauma-to-treatment time on the primary 7-day mortality outcome and secondary mortality (24-h, 30-day) and morbidity outcomes (need for operative interventions, secondary infections, and organ failure).

Discussion

This study is the first effort in the Western Cape of South Africa to build a standardized, high-quality, multicenter epidemiologic trauma dataset that links pre- and in-hospital care with mortuary data. In high-income countries and the U.S. military, the introduction of trauma databases and registries has led to interventions that significantly reduce post-injury death and disability. The EpiC study will describe epidemiology trends over time, and it will enable assessments of how trauma care and system processes directly impact trauma outcomes to ultimately improve the overall emergency care system.

Trial Registration: Not applicable as this study is not a clinical trial.

Ultrasonographic findings in patients with abdominal symptoms or trauma presenting to an emergency room in rural Tanzania

Background

Frequencies of ultrasonographic findings and diagnoses in emergency departments in sub-Saharan Africa are unknown. This study aimed to describe the frequencies of different sonographic findings and diagnoses found in patients with abdominal symptoms or trauma presenting to a rural referral hospital in Tanzania.

Methods

In this prospective observational study, we consecutively enrolled patients with abdominal symptoms or trauma triaged to the emergency room of the Saint Francis Referral Hospital, Ifakara. Patients with abdominal symptoms received an abdominal ultrasound. Patients with an abdominal or thoracic trauma received an Extended Focused Assessment with Ultrasound in Trauma (eFAST).

Results

From July 1st 2020 to June 30th 2021, a total of 88838 patients attended the emergency department, of which 7590 patients were triaged as ‘very urgent’ and were seen at the emergency room. A total of 1130 patients with abdominal symptoms received an ultrasound. The most frequent findings were abnormalities of the uterus or adnexa in 409/754 females (54.2%) and abdominal free fluid in 368 (32.6%) patients; no abnormality was found in 150 (13.5%) patients. A tumour in the abdomen or pelvis was found in 183 (16.2%) patients, an intrauterine pregnancy in 129/754 (17.1%) females, complete or incomplete abortion in 96 (12.7%), and a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in 32 (4.2%) females. In males, most common diagnosis was intestinal obstruction in 54/376 (14.4%), and splenomegaly in 42 (11.2%). Of 1556 trauma patients, 283 (18.1%) received an eFAST, and 53 (18.7%) had positive findings. A total of 27 (9.4%) trauma patients and 51 (4.5%) non-trauma patients were sent directly to the operating theatre.

Conclusion

In this study, ultrasound examination revealed abnormal findings for the majority of patients with non-traumatic abdominal symptoms. Building up capacity to provide diagnostic ultrasound is a promising strategy to improve emergency services, especially in a setting where diagnostic modalities are limited.

The accuracy of nurse-led triage of adult patients in the emergency centre of urban private hospitals

Background

: Triage is applied in emergency centres (ECs) to assign degrees of urgency to illnesses or injuries to decide in which order to treat patients, especially when there are many patients or casualties, facilitating the allocation of scarce medical resources. A triage nurse determines triage priority by assessing patients using an established triage tool with specific criteria. The South African Triage Scale is widely used in South African ECs. Although the South African Triage Scale has been adopted and implemented in both private and public healthcare ECs in South Africa, few studies have assessed the accuracy of nurse-led triage in private ECs.

Aim

: To determine the accuracy of nurse-led triage in ECs in urban, private hospitals.

Methods

: A quantitative, descriptive, retrospective study was done. Three private hospitals with similar average patient volumes were purposively selected. We sampled the nursing notes as follows: 1) we stratified nursing notes by nurse qualification and then 2) for each category of nurse we stratified nursing notes according to triage priority level and 3) then systematically randomly selected the recommended number of notes from each triage priority level for each nurse category. We retrospectively audited 389 EC nursing notes to determine the accuracy of nurse-led triage. For each note, we independently applied the South African Triage Scale, and then determined agreement between our score and the score determined by the triage nurse.

Results

: We recorded 342 triage errors, consisting of triage early warning scores (TEWS) errors (n = 168), discriminator errors (n = 97) and additional investigation errors (n = 77). Overall agreement between the triage nurses and our scores was 71.7% (n = 279). Triage errors (n = 110) consisted of 3.9% (n = 15) over-triage errors and 24.4% (n = 95) under-triage errors. The highest level of agreement was between our scores and the scores of the emergency trained registered nurses (85%) and enrolled nursing assistants (78%).

Conclusion

: In South African ECs, the South African Triage Scale is not always correctly applied, which can lead to almost a quarter (24.4%) of cases being under-triaged and not receiving timeous care. Our results suggest that emergency trained registered nurses are well equipped to be triage nurses, and that this skill should be developed in South African nursing curricula.

Epidemiology of interpersonal violence at a regional hospital emergency unit in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Background

This study describes the profile, mechanism and pattern of injuries, and highlights important gaps in clinicians’ consultations with patients who experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) in the predominantly black South African township of Mdantsane, Eastern Cape.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cecilia Makiwane Regional Hospital, Mdantsane. Medical records of patients who received emergency care for trauma between 01 December 2017 and 31 March 2018 were reviewed. The records of patients identified with IPV were selected for further analysis. Data were disaggregated by demographics, mechanism of injuries and circumstances of the incidents using simple descriptive statistics.

Results

A total of 1064 patients reported IPV as the mechanism of injury for emergency department (ED) visits, accounting for 42.4% of all trauma-related injuries. The majority of patients with IPV were men (72.0%), unemployed (78.0%) and single (89.0%). Blunt force injury was the most common pattern of injury (53.3%); about half (50.5%) of the incidents took place in the patients’ homes. The majority of the patients (68%) knew their assailants, and a quarter of them were an intimate partner of the assailant (27.6%). The flow of patient with IPV to the ED was skewed towards the weekend (weekend effect). Also, there was an upward trend in the flow of patients with IPV to the ED from 19:00 onwards, reaching a peak at 20:00.

Conclusion

Interpersonal violence is the most prevalent mechanism of injury reported in this region. It is crucial to engage stakeholders in the design of interventions in order to reduce IPV-related injuries in the region.

Prospective validation of a novel triage system developed in a middle income country - AIIMS triage protocol

Introduction:

Triage is a crucial process not only to identify sick patients and prioritize prompt management but also to foster efficient resource utilization. In low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) most emergency departments (ED) still have an informal triage process. Although an important element of emergency care, triage research has not been a priority in LMICs, and hence, very few triage systems have been validated. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) triage protocol or ATP for adult patients was developed by expert consensus at AIIMS using the Delphi method. We attempted a prospective validation of the ATP in terms of mortality and intensive care unit (ICU)/hospital admission at 24 h.

Methods:

Patients presenting to the ED, who were 14 years and above were included in the study. The patients were followed up at 24 h and their outcome documented on a standardized data collection form. Mortality and ICU admission were noted at 24 h.

Results:

A total of 15,505 patients were recruited. After exclusion, among 13,754 patients, 6303 (45.83%) were triaged red and 7451 (54.17%) were triaged yellow. Mortality at 24 h was 10.31% (650) in red triaged patients and 0.35% (26) in yellow triaged patients. The 24-h mortality of red triaged patients was significantly higher (P <0.001) than that of yellow triaged patients. The presence of one or more ATP “Red” criteria was 96.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 94.42%–97.47%) sensitive and 56.8% (95% CI: 55.92%–57.63%) specific in predicting 24-h mortality. The sensitivity and specificity of ATP “Red” criteria for 24-h ICU admission were 98.5% (95% CI: 97.7%–99.1%) and 59.6% (95% CI: 58.8%–60.5%), respectively.

Conclusion:

When applied to adult nontrauma patients, ATP had a high accuracy in recognizing sick patients presenting to the ED. A time-tested and validated triage system like ATP may be a good starting point for public hospital EDs in LMICs.

Using the South African Triage Scale for prehospital triage: a qualitative study

Background

Triage is a critical component of prehospital emergency care. Effective triage of patients allows them to receive appropriate care and to judiciously use personnel and hospital resources. In many low-resource settings prehospital triage serves an additional role of determining the level of destination facility. In South Africa, the Western Cape Government innovatively implemented the South African Triage Scale (SATS) in the public Emergency Medical Services (EMS) service in 2012. The prehospital provider perspectives and experiences of using SATS in the field have not been previously studied.

Methods

In this qualitative study, focus group discussions with cohorts of basic, intermediate and advanced life support prehospital providers were conducted and transcribed. A content analysis using an inductive approach was used to code transcripts and identify themes.

Results

15 EMS providers participated in three focus group discussions. Data saturation was reached and four major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis: Implementation and use of SATS; Effectiveness of SATS; Limitations of the discriminator; and Special EMS considerations. Participants overall felt that SATS was easy to use and allowed improved communication with hospital providers during patient handover. Participants, however, described many clinical cases when their clinical gestalt triaged the patient to a different clinical acuity than generated by SATS. Additionally, they stated many clinical discriminators were too subjective to effectively apply or covered too broad a range of clinical severity (e.g., ingestions). Participants provided examples of how the prehospital environment presents additional challenges to using SATS such as changing patient clinical conditions, transport times and social needs of patients.

Conclusions

Overall, participants felt that SATS was an effective tool in prehospital emergency care. However, they described many clinical scenarios where SATS was in conflict with their own assessment, the clinical care needs of the patient or the available prehospital and hospital resources. Many of the identified challenges to using SATS in the prehospital environment could be improved with small changes to SATS and provider re-training.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12873-021-00522-3.

Assessing attitudes to ED-based HIV testing: Development of a short-structured survey instrument

INTRODUCTION

Emergency Department (ED)-based HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has had a significant impact on improving rates of HIV diagnosis and linkage to care. Unfortunately, expansion of this strategy to low- and middle-income countries has been limited. Successful implementation of ED-based HCT is dependent on patient and provider acceptance of the intervention, and their attitudes and pre-existing biases towards the disease. This study sought to develop validated survey instruments to assess attitudes towards ED-based HCT.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study surveyed patients and providers in three EDs in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. A convenience sample of patients and providers in the ED were surveyed. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted using questions on attitudes to HIV testing to develop validated survey instruments. An ANOVA test assessed variance in attitudes towards HCT based on demographic variables collected.

RESULTS

A total of 104 patient and 132 provider surveys were completed. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a 17- and 7-question attitudes survey for patients and providers, respectively. Overall, 92.3% of patients and 70.7% of providers supported ED-based HCT, however, both groups displayed only mildly positive attitudes. Questions representing 'confidentiality' and 'stigma around HIV testing' had the least positive influence on patients' overall attitudes. Questions representing 'comfort with HIV testing' had the least positive influence on providers' overall attitudes.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated ED patients and providers are generally supportive of ED-based HCT. A validated survey instrument was able to provide a standardized approach to identify barriers to HCT implementation in an ED setting, across contexts. For successful implementation, behavioral interventions must focus on strengthening patient beliefs around confidentiality and the consent process, and providers' comfort levels with providing HIV testing services in the ED.

Validity and reliability of the South African Triage Scale in prehospital providers

Background

The South African Triage Scale (SATS) is a validated in-hospital triage tool that has been innovatively adopted for use in the prehospital setting by Western Cape Government (WCG) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in South Africa. The performance of SATS by EMS providers has not been formally assessed. The study sought to assess the validity and reliability of SATS when used by WCG EMS prehospital providers for single-patient triage.

Methods

This is a prospective, assessment-based validation study among WCG EMS providers from March to September 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants completed an assessment containing 50 clinical vignettes by calculating the three components — triage early warning score (TEWS), discriminators (pre-defined clinical conditions), and a final SATS triage color. Responses were scored against gold standard answers. Validity was assessed by calculating over- and under-triage rates compared to gold standard. Inter-rater reliability was assessed by calculating agreement among EMS providers’ responses.

Results

A total of 102 EMS providers completed the assessment. The final SATS triage color was accurately determined in 56.5%, under-triaged in 29.5%, and over-triaged in 13.1% of vignette responses. TEWS was calculated correctly in 42.6% of vignettes, under-calculated in 45.0% and over-calculated in 10.9%. Discriminators were correctly identified in only 58.8% of vignettes. There was substantial inter-rater and gold standard agreement for both the TEWS component and final SATS color, but there was lower inter-rater agreement for clinical discriminators.

Conclusion

This is the first assessment of SATS as used by EMS providers for prehospital triage. We found that SATS generally under-performed as a triage tool, mainly due to the clinical discriminators. We found good inter-rater reliability, but poor validity. The under-triage rate of 30% was higher than previous reports from the in-hospital setting. The over-triage rate of 13% was acceptable. Further clinically-based and qualitative studies are needed.

Trial registration

Not applicable.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12873-021-00406-6.

Patient acceptance of HIV testing services in rural emergency departments in South Africa

Background

South Africa faces the highest burden of HIV infection globally. The National Strategic Plan on HIV recommends provider-initiated HIV counselling and testing (HCT) in all healthcare facilities. However, HIV continues to overwhelm the healthcare system. Emergency department (ED)-based HCT could address unmet testing needs.

Objectives

This study examines the reasons for accepting or declining HCT in South African EDs to inform the development of HCT implementation strategies.

Method

We conducted a prospective observational study in two rural EDs, from June to September 2017. Patients presenting to the ED were systematically approached and offered a point-of-care test in accordance with national guidelines. Patients demographics, presenting compaint, medical history and reasons for accepting/declining testing, were recorded. A pooled analysis is presented.

Results

Across sites, 2074 adult, non-critical patients in the ED were approached; 1880 were enrolled in the study. Of those enrolled, 19.7% had a previously known positive diagnosis, and 80.3% were unaware of their HIV status. Of those unaware, 90% patients accepted and 10% declined testing. The primary reasons for declining testing were ‘does not want to know status’ (37.6%), ‘in too much pain’ (34%) and ‘does not believe they are at risk’ (19.9%).

Conclusions

Despite national guidelines, a high proportion of individuals remain undiagnosed, of which a majority are young men. Our study demonstrated high patient acceptance of ED-based HCT. There is a need for investment and innovation regarding effective pain management and confidential service delivery to address patient barriers. Findings support a routine, non-targeted HCT strategy in EDs.

Prioritizing the Care of Critically Ill Children in South Africa: How Does SCREEN Perform Against Other Triage Tools?

OBJECTIVE

Childhood mortality remains unacceptably high. In low-resource settings, children with critical illness often present for care. Current triage strategies are time consuming and require trained health care workers. To address this limitation, our team developed a simple subjective tool, SCREEN (Sick Children Require Emergency Evaluation Now), which is easy to administer, to identify critically ill children. This article presents the development of the SCREEN program and evaluates its performance when compared with other commonly implemented triage tools in low-resource settings.

METHODS

We measured the sensitivity and specificity of SCREEN, to identify critically ill children, compared with 4 other previously validated triage tools: the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses, the Pediatric Early Warning, the Pediatric South African Triage Scale, and the World Health Organization Emergency Triage Treatment Tool.

FINDINGS

SCREEN has high sensitivity (100%-98.73%; P < 0.001) and specificity (64.41%-50.71%; P < 0.001) when compared with other validated triage tools.

CONCLUSIONS

The SCREEN tool may offer a simple and effective method to identify critically ill children in low-resource environments.

Assault-injured youth in the emergency centres of Khayelitsha, South Africa: Baseline characteristics & opportunities for intervention

INTRODUCTION

Violence is a leading cause of death worldwide for youth age 15-29. A growing body of literature has described assault-injured youth in United States emergency centres, identifying risk factors for re-injury and mortality, and developing targeted interventions. Despite the fact that low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by violence, little research on assault-injured youth exists in these settings.

METHODS

Survey and chart review of 14 to 24-year-old assault-injured patients and non-assault-injured controls to 24-hour emergency centres in Khayelitsha, South Africa over 15 weeks. Patient enrollment occurred 7pm Friday to 7am Monday. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate associations of behavioral and other factors with assault injury.

RESULTS

In total 513 patients were enrolled: 324 assault-injured patients and 189 controls (131 medical, 58 unintentional injuries). Overall 28% were female (n = 146) and 72% were male (n = 367). The mean age was 20.5 years. Assault-injured patients of both genders were more likely than controls to give a 30-day history of drinking any alcohol (OR 6.3) and binge drinking (OR 6.7). They were also more likely to report any physical fight (OR 4.4) or any physical fight requiring medical care in the past 6 months (OR 5.08), and lifetime history of arrest (OR 5.1) or conviction (OR 6.7). Drugs and/or alcohol were used by victims prior to 78% of the assaults. Significant differences were not detected between females (76%) and males (79%). Overall, 47% of assault-injured youth and 15% of controls reported a history of a fight requiring medical treatment in the past 6 months.

DISCUSSION

Violence is a chronic and recurring disease, suggesting opportunities for interventions during health care contacts. Our population of assault-injured youth demonstrated significant rates of alcohol use and binge drinking, as well as alcohol use prior to the assault. Future secondary violence prevention initiatives should consider targeting alcohol use and abuse.

Targeting the HIV Epidemic in South Africa: The Need for Testing and Linkage to Care in Emergency Departments

BACKGROUND

The Eastern Cape province of South Africa has one of the highest burdens of HIV in the world. Emergency Departments (EDs) can serve as optimal clinical sites for the identification of new HIV infections and entry into care. We sought to determine the current burden of HIV disease among ED patients in the Eastern Cape.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective cross-sectional observational study in the EDs of three Hospitals in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa from June 2017 to July 2018. All adult, non-critical patients presenting to the ED were systematically approached and offered a Point-Of-Care (POC) HIV test in accordance with South African guidelines. All HIV-positive individuals had their blood tested for the presence of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the presence of viral suppression (≤ 1000 copies/ml). HIV incidence was estimated using a multi-assay algorithm, validated for a subtype C epidemic.

FINDINGS

Of the 2901 patients for whom HIV status was determined (either known HIV-positive or underwent POC HIV testing), 811 (28.0%) were HIV positive, of which 234 (28.9%) were newly diagnosed. HIV prevalence was higher in Mthatha [34% (388/1134) at Mthatha Regional Hospital and 28% (142/512) at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital], compared to Port Elizabeth [22% (281/1255) at Livingstone Hospital]. HIV incidence was estimated at 4.5/100 person-years (95% CI: 2.4, 6.50) for women and 1.5 (CI 0.5, 2.5) for men. Of all HIV positive individuals tested for ART (585), 54% (316/585) tested positive for the presence of ARTs, and for all HIV positive participants with viral load data (609), 49% (299/609) were found to be virally suppressed.

INTERPRETATION

Our study not only observed a high prevalence and incidence of HIV among ED patients but also highlights significant attrition along the HIV care cascade for HIV positive individuals. Furthermore, despite developing an optimal testing environment, we were only able to enrol a small sub-set of the ED population. Given the high HIV prevalence and high attrition in the ED population, HIV services in the ED should also develop strategies that can accommodate large testing volumes and ART initiation.

Implementation and performance of the South African Triage Scale at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

INTRODUCTION

Triage protocols standardize and improve patient care in accident and emergency departments (A&Es). Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the largest public tertiary hospital in East Africa, is resource-limited and was without A&E-specific triage protocols.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to standardize patient triage through implementation of the South African Triage Scale (SATS). We aimed to (1) assess the reliability of triage decisions among A&E healthcare workers following an educational intervention and (2) analyze the validity of the SATS in KNH's A&E.

METHODS

Part 1 was a prospective, before and after trial utilizing an educational intervention and assessing triage reliability using previously validated vignettes administered to 166 healthcare workers. Part 2 was a triage chart review wherein we assessed the validity of the SATS in predicting patient disposition outcomes by inclusion of 2420 charts through retrospective, systematic sampling.

RESULTS

Healthcare workers agreed with an expert defined triage standard for 64% of triage scenarios following an educational intervention, and had a 97% agreement allowing for a one-level discrepancy in the SATS score. There was "good" inter-rater agreement based on an intraclass correlation coefficient and quadratic weighted kappa. We analyzed 1209 pre-SATS and 1211 post-SATS patient charts and found a non-significant difference in undertriage and statistically significant decrease in overtriage rates between the pre- and post-SATS cohorts (undertriage 3.8 and 7.8%, respectively, p = 0.2; overtriage 70.9 and 62.3%, respectively, p < 0.05). The SATS had a sensitivity of 92.2% and specificity of 37.7% for predicting admission, death, or discharge in the A&E.

CONCLUSION

Healthcare worker triage decisions using the SATS were more consistent with expert opinion following an educational intervention. The SATS also performed well in predicting outcomes with high sensitivity and satisfactory levels of both undertriage and overtriage, confirming the SATS as a contextually appropriate triage system at a major East African A&E.

Reliability and validity of emergency department triage tools in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Despite the universal acknowledgment that triage is necessary to prioritize emergency care, there is no review that provides an overview of triage tools evaluated and utilized in resource-poor settings, such as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We seek to quantify and evaluate studies evaluating triage tools in LMICs.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review of the literature between 2000 and 2015 to identify studies that evaluated the reliability and validity of triage tools for adult emergency care in LMICs. Studies were then evaluated for the overall quality of evidence using the GRADE criteria.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies were included in the review, evaluating six triage tools. Three of the 18 studies were in low-income countries and none were in rural hospitals. Two of the six tools had evaluations of reliability. Each tool positively predicted clinical outcomes, although the variety in resource environments limited ability to compare the predictive nature of any one tool. The South African Triage Scale had the highest quality of evidence. In comparison with high-income countries, the review showed fewer studies evaluating reliability and presented a higher number of studies with small sample sizes that decreased the overall quality of evidence.

CONCLUSION

The quality of evidence supporting any single triage tool's validity and reliability in LMICs is moderate at best. Research on triage tool applicability in low-resource environments must be targeted to the actual clinical environment where the tool will be utilized, and must include low-income countries and rural, primary care settings.

Inter-rater and intrarater reliability of the South African Triage Scale in low-resource settings of Haiti and Afghanistan

Objective

The South African Triage Scale (SATS) has demonstrated good validity in the EDs of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-supported sites in Afghanistan and Haiti; however, corresponding reliability in these settings has not yet been reported on. This study set out to assess the inter-rater and intrarater reliability of the SATS in four MSF-supported EDs in Afghanistan and Haiti (two trauma-only EDs and two mixed (including both medical and trauma cases) EDs).

Methods

Under classroom conditions between December 2013 and February 2014, ED nurses at each site assigned triage ratings to a set of context-specific vignettes (written case reports of ED patients). Inter-rater reliability was assessed by comparing triage ratings among nurses; intrarater reliability was assessed by asking the nurses to retriage 10 random vignettes from the original set and comparing these duplicate ratings. Inter-rater reliability was calculated using the unweighted kappa, linearly weighted kappa and quadratically weighted kappa (QWK) statistics, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Intrarater reliability was calculated according to the percentage of exact agreement and the percentage of agreement allowing for one level of discrepancy in triage ratings. The correlation between years of nursing experience and reliability of the SATS was assessed based on comparison of ICCs and the respective 95% CIs.

Results

A total of 67 nurses agreed to participate in the study: In Afghanistan there were 19 nurses from Kunduz Trauma Centre and nine from Ahmed Shah Baba; in Haiti, there were 20 nurses from Martissant Emergency Centre and 19 from Tabarre Surgical and Trauma Centre. Inter-rater agreement was moderate across all sites (ICC range: 0.50–0.60; QWK range: 0.50–0.59) apart from the trauma ED in Haiti where it was moderate to substantial (ICC: 0.58; QWK: 0.61). Intrarater agreement was similar across the four sites (68%–74% exact agreement); when allowing for a one-level discrepancy in triage ratings, intrarater reliability was near perfect across all sites (96%–99%). No significant correlation was found between years of nursing experience and reliability.

Conclusion

The SATS has moderate reliability in different EDs in Afghanistan and Haiti. These findings, together with concurrent findings showing that the SATS has good validity in the same settings, provide evidence to suggest that SATS is suitable in trauma-only and mixed EDs in low-resource settings.

HIV testing in a South African Emergency Department: A missed opportunity

BACKGROUND

South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world, with 19% of the global number of people living with HIV, 15% of new infections and 11% of AIDS-related deaths. Even though HIV testing is mandated in all hospital-based facilities in South Africa (SA), it is rarely implemented in the Emergency Department (ED). The ED provides episodic care to large volumes of undifferentiated who present with unplanned injury or illness. Thus, the ED may provide an opportunity to capture patients with undiagnosed HIV infection missed by clinic-based screening programs.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

In this prospective exploratory study, we implemented the National South African HIV testing guidelines (counselor initiated non-targeted universal screening with rapid point of care testing) for 24-hours a day at Frere Hospital in the Eastern Cape from September 1st to November 30th, 2016. The purpose of our study was to quantify the burden of undiagnosed HIV infection in a South African ED setting. Furthermore, we sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the nationally recommended HIV testing strategy in the ED. All patients who presented for care in the ED during the study period, and who were clinically stable and fully conscious, were eligible to be approached by HIV counseling and testing (HCT) staff to receive a rapid point-of-care HIV test. A total of 2355 of the 9583 (24.6%) patients who presented to the ED for care during the study period were approached by the HCT staff, of whom 1714 (72.8%) accepted HIV testing. There was a high uptake of HIV testing (78.6%) among a predominantly male (58%) patient group who mostly presented with traumatic injuries (70.8%). Four hundred (21.6%) patients were HIV positive, including 115 (6.2%) with newly diagnosed HIV infection. The overall prevalence of HIV infection was twice as high in females (29.8%) compared to males (15.4%). Both sexes had a similar prevalence of newly diagnosed HIV infection (6.0% for all females and 6.4% for all males) in the ED.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall there was high HIV testing acceptance by ED patients. A non-targeted testing approached revealed a high HIV prevalence with a significant burden of undiagnosed HIV infection in the ED. Unfortunately, a counselor-driven HIV testing approach fell short of meeting the testing needs in this setting, with over 75% of ED patients not approached by HCT staff.

Ambulance use is not associated with patient acuity after road traffic collisions: a cross-sectional study from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Africa accounts for one sixth of global road traffic deaths-most in the pre-hospital setting. Ambulance transport is expensive relative to other modes of pre-hospital transport, but has advantages in time-sensitive, high-acuity scenarios. Many countries, including Ethiopia, are expanding ambulance fleets, but clinical characteristics of patients using ambulances remain ill-defined.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study of 662 road traffic collisions (RTC) patients arriving to a single trauma referral center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, over 7 months. Emergency Department triage records were used to abstract clinical and arrival characteristics, including acuity. The outcome of interest was ambulance arrival. Secondary outcomes of interest were inter-facility referral and referral communication. Descriptive and multivariable statistics were computed to identify factors independently associated with outcomes.

RESULTS

Over half of patients arrived with either high (13.1%) or moderate (42.2%) acuity. Over half (59.0%) arrived by ambulance, and nearly two thirds (65.9%) were referred. Among referred patients, inter-facility communication was poor (57.7%). Patients with high acuity were most likely to be referred (aOR 2.20, 95%CI 1.16-4.17), but were not more likely to receive ambulance transport (aOR 1.56, 95%CI 0.86-2.84) or inter-facility referral communication (aOR 0.98, 95%CI 0.49-1.94) than those with low acuity. Nearly half (40.2%) of all patients were referred by ambulance despite having low acuity.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite ambulance expansion in Addis Ababa, ambulance use among RTC patients remains heavily concentrated among those with low-acuity. Inter-facility referral appears a primary contributor to low-acuity ambulance use. In other contexts, similar routine ambulance monitoring may help identify low-value utilization. Regional guidelines may help direct ambulance use where most valuable, and warrant further evaluation.

Operational demands on pre-hospital emergency care for burn injuries in a middle-income setting: a study in the Western Cape, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Burns occur disproportionately within low-socioeconomic populations. The Western Cape Province of South Africa represents a middle-income setting with a high rate of burns, few specialists and few burn centres, yet a well-developed pre-hospital system. This paper describes the burn cases from a viewpoint of operational factors important to pre-hospital emergency medical services.

METHODS

A retrospective, cross-sectional study of administrative and patient records was conducted. Data were captured for all pre-hospital burn patients treated by public Emergency Medical Services over a continuous 12-month period. Data were captured separately at each site using a standardised data collection tool. Described categories included location (rural or urban), transport decision (transported or remained on scene), age (child or adult) and urgency (triage colour).

RESULTS

EMS treated 1198 patients with confirmed burns representing 0.6% of the total EMS caseload; an additional 819 potential burn cases could not be confirmed. Of the confirmed cases, 625 (52.2%) were located outside the City of Cape Town and 1058 (88.3%) were transported to a medical facility. Patients from urban areas had longer mission times. Children accounted for 37.5% (n = 449) of all burns. The majority of transported patients that were triaged were yellow (n = 238, 41.6% rural and n = 182, 37.4% urban).

CONCLUSIONS

Burns make up a small portion of the EMS caseload. More burns occurred in areas far from urban hospitals and burn centres. The majority of burn cases met the burn centre referral criteria.

Harmful alcohol use among injured adult patients presenting to a Ghanaian emergency department

We performed a nested convenience sample survey of harmful alcohol use among injured patients aged 18 years and older treated in the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (Kumasi, Ghana) emergency department (ED). Data from the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, alcohol breath or saliva tests, patient demographics and injury characteristics were collected from an administered survey and medical chart review. A total of 403 subjects were surveyed, and 107 (27%; 95% CI 22 to 31) reported harmful alcohol use. High rates of harmful alcohol use were found among males (35%), acutely alcohol-positive subjects (55%), drivers (32%), pedestrians (35%) and assault victims (43%). A substantial proportion of injured patients reported harmful alcohol use. The data obtained support routine screening of injured patients presenting to Ghanaian EDs for harmful alcohol use.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Kampala Trauma Score using estimated Abbreviated Injury Scale scores and physician opinion

BACKGROUND

The Kampala Trauma Score (KTS) has been proposed as a triage tool for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to examine the diagnostic accuracy of KTS in predicting emergency department outcomes using timely injury estimation with Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score and physician opinion to calculate KTS scores.

METHODS

This was a diagnostic accuracy study of KTS among injured patients presenting to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital A&E, Ghana. South African Triage Scale (SATS); KTS component variables, including AIS scores and physician opinion for serious injury quantification; and ED disposition were collected. Agreement between estimated AIS score and physician opinion were analyzed with normal, linear weighted, and maximum kappa. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of KTS-AIS and KTS-physician opinion was performed to evaluate each measure's ability to predict A&E mortality and need for hospital admission to the ward or theatre.

RESULTS

A total of 1053 patients were sampled. There was moderate agreement between AIS criteria and physician opinion by normal (κ=0.41), weighted (κ_lin=0.47), and maximum (κ_max=0.53) kappa. A&E mortality ROC area for KTS-AIS was 0.93, KTS-physician opinion 0.89, and SATS 0.88 with overlapping 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Hospital admission ROC area for KTS-AIS was 0.73, KTS-physician opinion 0.79, and SATS 0.71 with statistical similarity. When evaluating only patients with serious injuries, KTS-AIS (ROC 0.88) and KTS-physician opinion (ROC 0.88) performed similarly to SATS (ROC 0.78) in predicting A&E mortality. The ROC area for KTS-AIS (ROC 0.71; 95%CI 0.66-0.75) and KTS-physician opinion (ROC 0.74; 95%CI 0.69-0.79) was significantly greater than SATS (ROC 0.57; 0.53-0.60) with regard to need for admission.

CONCLUSIONS

KTS predicted mortality and need for admission from the ED well when early estimation of the number of serious injuries was used, regardless of method (i.e. AIS criteria or physician opinion). This study provides evidence for KTS to be used as a practical and valid triage tool to predict patient prognosis, ED outcomes and inform referral decision-making from first- or second-level hospitals in LMICs.

Early physical and functional rehabilitation of trauma patients in the Médecins Sans Frontières trauma centre in Kunduz, Afghanistan: luxury or necessity?

BACKGROUND

In Afghanistan, Médecins Sans Frontières provided specialised trauma care in Kunduz Trauma Centre (KTC), including physiotherapy. In this study, we describe the development of an adapted functional score for patient outcome monitoring, and document the rehabilitation care provided and patient outcomes in relation to this functional score.

METHODS

A descriptive cohort study was done, including all patients admitted in the KTC inpatient department (IPD) between January and June 2015. The adapted functional score was collected at four points in time: admission and discharge from both IPD and outpatient department (OPD).

RESULTS

Out of the 1528 admitted patients, 92.3% (n = 1410) received at least one physiotherapy session. A total of 1022 patients sustained either lower limb fracture, upper limb fracture, traumatic brain injury or multiple injury. Among them, 966 patients received physiotherapy in IPD, of whom 596 (61.7%) received IPD sessions within 2 days of admission; 696 patients received physiotherapy in OPD. Functional independence increased over time; among patients having a functional score taken at admission and discharge from IPD, 32.2% (172/535) were independent at discharge, and among patients having a functional score at OPD admission and discharge, 79% (75/95) were independent at discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

The provision of physiotherapy was feasible in this humanitarian setting, and the tailored functional score appeared to be relevant.

One-two-triage: validation and reliability of a novel triage system for low-resource settings

Objectives

To validate and assess reliability of a novel triage system, one-two-triage (OTT), that can be applied by inexperienced providers in low-resource settings.

Methods

This study was a two-phase prospective, comparative study conducted at three hospitals. Phase I assessed criterion validity of OTT on all patients arriving at an American university hospital by comparing agreement among three methods of triage: OTT, Emergency Severity Index (ESI) and physician-defined acuity (the gold standard). Agreement was reported in normalised and raw-weighted Cohen κ using two different scales for weighting, Expert-weighted and triage-weighted κ. Phase II tested reliability, reported in Fleiss κ, of OTT using standardised cases among three groups of providers at an urban and rural Cambodian hospital and the American university hospital.

Results

Normalised for prevalence of patients in each category, OTT and ESI performed similarly well for expert-weighted κ (OTT κ=0.58, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.65; ESI κ=0.47, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.53) and triage-weighted κ (κ=0.54, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.61; ESI κ=0.57, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.64). Without normalising, agreement with gold standard was less for both systems but performance of OTT and ESI remained similar, expert-weighted (OTT κ=0.57, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.62; ESI κ=0.6, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.66) and triage-weighted (OTT κ=0.31, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.38; ESI κ=0.41, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.4). In the reliability phase, all triagers showed fair inter-rater agreement, Fleiss κ (κ=0.308).

Conclusions

OTT can be reliably applied and performs as well as ESI compared with gold standard, but requires fewer resources and less experience.

Severely deranged vital signs as triggers for acute treatment modifications on an intensive care unit in a low-income country

Background

Critical care saves lives of the young with reversible disease. Little is known about critical care services in low-income countries. In a setting with a shortage of doctors the actions of the nurse bedside are likely to have a major impact on the outcome of critically ill patients with rapidly changing physiology. Identification of severely deranged vital signs and subsequent treatment modifications are the basis of modern routines in critical care, for example goal directed therapy and rapid response teams. This study assesses how often severely deranged vital signs trigger an acute treatment modification on an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Tanzania.

Methods

A medical records based, observational study. Vital signs (conscious level, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, heart rate and systolic blood pressure) were collected as repeated point prevalences three times per day in a 1-month period for all adult patients on the ICU. Severely deranged vital signs were identified and treatment modifications within 1 h were noted.

Results

Of 615 vital signs studied, 126 (18%) were severely deranged. An acute treatment modification was in total indicated in 53 situations and was carried out three times (6%) (2/32 for hypotension, 0/8 for tachypnoea, 1/6 for tachycardia, 0/4 for unconsciousness and 0/3 for hypoxia).

Conclusions

This study suggests that severely deranged vital signs are common and infrequently lead to acute treatment modifications on an ICU in a low-income country. There may be potential to improve outcome if nurses are guided to administer acute treatment modifications by using a vital sign directed approach. A prospective study of a vital sign directed therapy protocol is underway.

Providing emergency care and assessing a patient triage system in a referral hospital in Somaliland: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

In resource-poor settings, where health systems are frequently stretched to their capacity, access to emergency care is often limited. Triage systems have been proposed as a tool to ensure efficiency and optimal use of emergency resources in such contexts. However, evidence on the practice of emergency care and the implementation of triage systems in such settings, is scarce. This study aimed to assess emergency care provision in the Burao district hospital in Somaliland, including the application of the South African Triage Scale (SATS) tool.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken. Routine programme data of all patients presenting at the Emergency Department (ED) of Burao Hospital during its first year of service (January to December 2012) were analysed. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT) indicators were used as SATS targets for high priority emergency cases ("high acuity" proportion), overtriage and undertriage (with thresholds of >25%, <50% and <10%, respectively).

RESULTS

In 2012, among 7212 patients presented to the ED, 41% were female, and 18% were aged less than five. Only 21% of these patients sought care at the ED within 24 hours of developing symptoms. The high acuity proportion was 22.3%, while the overtriage (40%) and undertriage (9%) rates were below the pre-set thresholds. The overall mortality rate was 1.3% and the abandon rate 2.0%. The outcomes of patients corresponds well with the color code assigned using SATS.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study assessing the implementation of SATS in a post-conflict and resource-limited African setting showing that most indicators met the expected standards. In particular, specific attention is needed to improve the relatively low rate of true emergency cases, delays in patient presentation and in timely provision of care within the ED. This study also highlights the need for development of emergency care thresholds that are more adapted to resource-poor contexts. These issues are discussed.