Triage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the concept of triage as it occurs in medical emergencies and disasters. For other
uses, see Triage (disambiguation).

Typical triage tag. Note 'tear-off' sections for decontamination and patient tracking.

Triage (pronounced /ˈtriːɑːʒ/) is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their
condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated
immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sort, sift or select.
[1]
Two types of triage exist: simple and advanced.[2] The outcome may result in determining the order
and priority of emergency treatment, the order and priority of emergency transport, or the transport
destination for the patient, based upon the special needs of the patient or the balancing of patient
distribution in a mass-casualty setting.

Note: Triage has multiple meanings: The term may also hold true on a priority basis for patients
arriving at the emergency department, or to nurse-driven telephone medical advice systems,[3] among
others. This article deals with the concept of triage as it occurs in medical emergencies, including the
prehospital setting, disasters, and during emergency room treatment.

[edit]History and origin

Triage station, Suippes, France, World War I.

Only immediately life-saving treatment takes priority over triage.

Triage originated and was first formalized in World War I by French doctors treating the battlefield
wounded at the aid stations behind the front. Much is owed to the work of Dominique Jean
Larrey during the Napoleonic Wars. Historically, a broad range of attempts occurred to triage patients,
and differing approaches and patient tagging systems used in a variety of different countries. Triage
has existed for a very long time, albeit without a particular appellation applied to the practice. Until
recently, triage results, whether performed by a paramedic or anyone else, were frequently a matter of
the 'best guess', as opposed to any real or meaningful assessment.[4] In fact, triaging used to be taught
with an emphasis on the speed of the function, rather than the accuracy of the outcome.[citation needed] At
its most primitive, those responsible for the removal of the wounded from a battlefield or their care
afterwards have always divided victims into three basic categories:

 1) Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;

 2) Those who are likely to die, regardless of what care they receive;

 3) Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.[5]

For many Emergency medical services (EMS) systems, a similar model can sometimes still be applied.
Once a full response has occurred and many hands are available, virtually every paramedic will use
the model included in their service policy and standing orders. In the earliest stages of an incident,
however, when one or two paramedics exist to twenty or more patients, practicality demands that the
above, more "primitive" model will be used. As in virtually all aspects of EMS, there are times when
'back to basics' is the only approach that will be effective.[citation needed]

Modern approaches to triage are more scientific. The outcome and grading of the victim is frequently
the result of physiological and assessment findings. Some models, such as the START model, are
committed to memory, and may even be algorithm-based. As triage concepts become more
sophisticated, triage guidance is also evolving into both software and hardware decision support
products for use by caregivers in both hospitals and the field.[6]

[edit]Types of triage
[edit]Simple triage
Simple triage is usually used in a scene of a "mass-casualty incident" (MCI), in order to sort patients
into those who need critical attention and immediate transport to the hospital and those with less
serious injuries. This step can be started before transportation becomes available. The categorization
of patients based on the severity of their injuries can be aided with the use of printed triage tags or
colored flagging.[7]

[edit]S.T.A.R.T. model

Main article: Simple triage and rapid treatment

S.T.A.R.T. (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) is a simple triage system that can be performed by
lightly-trained lay and emergency personnel in emergencies.[8] It is not intended to supersede or
instruct medical personnel or techniques. It may serve as an instructive example, and has been (2003)
taught to California emergency workers for use in earthquakes. It was developed at Hoag Hospital
in Newport Beach, California for use by emergency services. It has been field-proven in mass casualty
incidents such as train wrecks and bus accidents, though it was developed for use by community
emergency response teams (CERTs) and firefighters after earthquakes.
Triage separates the injured into four groups:

 0 The deceased who are beyond help

 1 The injured who can be helped by immediate transportation

 2 The injured whose transport can be delayed

 3 Those with minor injuries, who need help less urgently

[edit]Advanced triage
In advanced triage, doctors may decide that some seriously injured people should not receive
advanced care because they are unlikely to survive. Advanced care will be used on patients with less
severe injuries. Because treatment is intentionally withheld from patients with certain injuries,
advanced triage has ethical implications. It is used to divert scarce resources away from patients with
little chance of survival in order to increase the chances of survival of others who are more likely to
survive.

In Western Europe, the criterion used for this category of patient is a trauma score of consistently at or
below 3. This can be determined by using the Triage Revised Trauma Score(TRTS), a medically-
validated scoring system incorporated in some triage cards.[9]

Another example of a trauma scoring system is the Injury Severity Score (ISS). This assigns a score
from 0 to 75 based on severity of injury to the human body divided into three categories: A
(face/neck/head), B(thorax/abdomen), C(extremities/external/skin). Each category is scored from 0 to
5 using the Abbreviated Injury Scale, from uninjured to critically injured, which is then squared and
summed to create the ISS. A score of 6, for "unsurvivable", can also be used for any of the three
categories, and automatically sets the score to 75 regardless of other scores. Depending on the triage
situation, this may indicate either that the patient is a first priority for care, or that he or she will not
receive care due to the need to conserve care for more likely survivors.

The use of advanced triage may become necessary when medical professionals decide that the
medical resources available are not sufficient to treat all the people who need help. The treatment
being prioritized can include the time spent on medical care, or drugs or other limited resources. This
has happened in disasters such as volcanic eruptions, thunderstorms, and rail accidents. In these
cases some percentage of patients will die regardless of medical care because of the severity of their
injuries. Others would live if given immediate medical care, but would die without it.

In these extreme situations, any medical care given to people who will die anyway can be considered
to be care withdrawn from others who might have survived (or perhaps suffered less severe disability
from their injuries) had they been treated instead. It becomes the task of the disaster medical
authorities to set aside some victims as hopeless, to avoid trying to save one life at the expense of
several others.

If immediate treatment is successful, the patient may improve (although this may be temporary) and
this improvement may allow the patient to be categorized to a lower priority in the short term. Triage
should be a continuous process and categories should be checked regularly to ensure that the priority
remains correct. A trauma score is invariably taken when the victim first comes into hospital and
subsequent trauma scores taken to see any changes in the victim's physiological parameters. If a
record is maintained, the receiving hospital doctor can see a trauma score time series from the start of
the incident, which may allow definitive treatment earlier.

Typical triaging systems

SMART TAG system. Note the bar METTAG system in Japanese. Even simple tape can be used

code for patient tracking. as a last resort.

[edit]Continuous integrated triage

Continuous Integrated Triage is an approach to triage in mass casualty situations which is both
efficient and sensitive to psychosocial and disaster behavioral health issues that affect the number of
patients seeking care (surge), the manner in which a hospital or healthcare facility deals with that
surge (surge capacity)[10] and the overarching medical needs of the event.

Continuous Integrated Triage combines three forms of triage with progressive specificity to most
rapidly identify those patients in greatest need of care while balancing the needs of the individual
patients against the available resources and the needs of other patients. Continuous Integrated Triage
employs:

 Group (Global) Triage (i.e., M.A.S.S. triage)[11]

 Physiologic (Individual) Triage (i.e., S.T.A.R.T.)

 Hospital Triage (i.e., E.S.I. or Emergency Severity Index)

However any Group, Individual and/or Hospital Triage system can be used at the appropriate level of
evaluation.

[edit]Reverse triage
In addition to the standard practices of triage as mentioned above, there are conditions where
sometimes the less wounded are treated in preference to the more severely wounded. This may arise
in a situation such as war where the military setting may require soldiers be returned to combat as
quickly as possible, or disaster situations where medical resources are limited in order to conserve
resources for those likely to survive but requiring advanced medical care.[12] Other possible scenarios
where this could arise include situations where significant numbers of medical personnel are among
the affected patients where it may be advantageous to ensure that they survive to continue providing
care in the coming days especially if medical resources are already stretched. In cold water drowning
incidents, it is common to use reverse triage because drowning victims in cold water can survive
longer than in warm water if given immediate basic life support and often those who are rescued and
able to breathe on their own will improve with minimal or no help.[13]

[edit]Labelling of patients

Many triage systems are now computerized

Upon completion of the initial assessment by medical or paramedical personnel, each patient will be
labelled with a device called a triage tag. This will identify the patient and any assessment findings and
will identify the priority of the patient's need for medical treatment and transport from the emergency
scene. Triage tags may take a variety of forms. Some countries use a nationally standardized triage
tag,[14] while in other countries commercially available triage tags are used, and these will vary by
jurisdictional choice.[15] The most commonly used commercial systems include the METTAG,[16] the
SMARTTAG,[17] and the CRUCIFORM systems.[18] More advanced tagging systems incorporate special
markers to indicate whether or not patients have been contaminated by hazardous materials, and also
tear off strips for tracking the movement of patients through the process. Some of these tracking
systems are beginning to incorporate the use of handheld computers, and in some cases, bar code
scanners. At its most primitive, however, patients may be simply marked with coloured tape, or with
marker pens, when triage tags are either unavailable or insufficient.

[edit]Undertriage and overtriage

Undertriage and overtriage are two key concepts that are imperative to understanding the triage
process. Undertriage is the process of underestimating the severity of an illness or injury. An example
of this would be categorizing a Priority 1 (Immediate) patient as a Priority 2 (Delayed) or Priority 3
(Minimal). Historically, acceptable undertriage rates have been deemed 5% or less. Overtriage is the
process of overestimating the level to which an individual has experienced an illness or injury. An
example of this would be categorizing a Priority 3 (Minimal) patient as a Priority 2 (Delayed) or Priority
1 (Immediate). Acceptable overtriage rates have been typically up to 50% in an effort to avoid
undertriage. Some studies suggest that overtriage is less likely to occur when triaging is performed by
hospital medical teams, rather than paramedics or EMTs.[19]

[edit]Regional variation
[edit]United States Military
Triage in a non-combat situation is conducted much the same as in civilian medicine. A battlefield
situation, however, requires medics and corpsmen to rank casualties for precedence
inMEDEVAC or CASEVAC. The triage categories (with corresponding color codes), in precedence,
are:

 Immediate: The casualty requires immediate medical attention and will not survive if not seen
soon. Any compromise to the casualty's respiration, hemorrhage control, or shock control could be
fatal.

 Delayed: The casualty requires medical attention within 6 hours. Injuries are potentially life-
threatening, but can wait until the Immediate casualties are stabilized and evacuated.

 Minimal: "Walking wounded," the casualty requires medical attention when all higher priority
patients have been evacuated, and may not require stabilization or monitoring.

 Expectant: The casualty is expected not to reach higher medical support alive without
compromising the treatment of higher priority patients. Care should not be abandoned, spare any
remaining time and resources after Immediate and Delayed patients have been treated.[20]

Afterwards, casualties are given an evacuation priority based on need:

 Urgent: evacuation is required within two hours to save life or limb.

 Priority: evacuation is necessary within four hours or the casualty will deteriorate to "Urgent".
  Routine: evacuate within 24 hours to complete treatment.

In a "naval combat situation", the triage officer must weigh the tactical situation with supplies on hand
and the realistic capacity of the medical personnel. This process can be ever-changing, dependent
upon the situation and must attempt to do the maximum good for the maximum number of casualties.
[21]

Field assessments are made by two methods: primary survey (used to detect & treat life-threatening
injuries) and secondary survey (used to treat non-life threatening injuries) with the following
categories:

 Class I Patients who require minor treatment and can return to duty in a short period of time.

 Class II Patients whose injuries require immediate life sustaining measures.

 Class III Patients for whom definitive treatment can be delayed without loss of life or limb.

 Class IV Patients requiring such extensive care beyond medical personnel capability and
time.

[edit]Canada

In the mid-1980s, The Victoria General Hospital, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, introduced
paramedic triage in its Emergency Department. Unlike all other centres in North Americathat employ
physician and primarily nurse triage models, this hospital began the practice of employing Primary
Care level paramedics to perform triage upon entry to the Emergency Department. In 1997, following
the amalgamation of two of the city's largest hospitals, the Emergency Department at the Victoria
General closed. The paramedic triage system was moved to the city's only remaining adult emergency
department, located at the New Halifax Infirmary. In 2006, a triage protocol on whom to exclude from
treatment during a flu pandemic was written by a team of critical-care doctors at the behest of
the Ontario government.

For routine emergencies, many locales in Canada now employ the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale
for all incoming patients.[22] The system categorizes patients by both injury and physiological findings,
and ranks them by severity from 1-5. The model is used by both paramedics and E/R nurses, and also
for pre-arrival notifications in some cases. The model provides a common frame of reference for both
nurses and paramedics, although the two groups do not always agree on scoring (particularly when
there is a shortage of available beds in the E/R) results. It also provides a method, in some
communities, for benchmarking the accuracy of pre-triage of calls using AMPDS (What percentage of
Delta calls have return priorities of CTAS 1,2,3, etc.)and these findings are reported as part of a
municipal performance benchmarking initiative in Ontario. Curiously enough the model is not currently
used for mass casualty triage, and is replaced by the START protocol and METTAG triage tags.[23]

[edit]United Kingdom
In the UK, the commonly used triage system is the Smart Incident Command System, taught on the
MIMMS (Major Incident Medical Management (and) Support) training program.[24]The UK Armed
Forces are also using this system on operations worldwide. This grades casualties from Priority 1
(most urgent) to Priority 4 (expectant, i.e. likely to die).[25]

In the UK and Europe, the triage process used is sometimes similar to that of the United States, but
the categories are different[26]:

 Dead - patients who have a trauma score of 0 to 2 and are beyond help

 Immediate - patients who have a trauma score of 3 to 10 (RTS) and need immediate attention

 Urgent - patients who have a trauma score of 10 or 11 and can wait for a short time before
transport to definitive medical attention

 Delayed - patients who have a trauma score of 12 (maximum score) and can be delayed
before transport from the scene

[edit]Finland

Triage at an accident scene is performed by a paramedic or an emergency physician, using the four-
level scale of Cannot wait, Has to wait, Can wait and Lost.

[edit]France

In France, the triage in case of a disaster uses a four-level scale:

 DCD: décédé (deceased), or urgence dépassée (beyond urgency)

 UA: urgence absolue (absolute urgency)

 UR: urgence relative (relative urgency)

 UMP: urgence médico-psychologique (medical-psychological urgency) or impliqué (implied,

i.e. lightly wounded or just psychologically shocked).

This triage is performed by a physician called médecin trieur (sorting medic).[27] This triage is usually
performed at the field hospital (PMA–poste médical avancé, i.e. forward medical post). The absolute
urgencies are usually treated onsite (the PMA has an operating room) or evacuated to a hospital. The
relative urgencies are just placed under watch, waiting for an evacuation. The involved are addressed
to another structure called the CUMP–Cellule d'urgence médico-psychologique (medical-psychological
urgency cell); this is a resting zone, with food and possibly temporary lodging, and a psychologist to
take care of the brief reactive psychosis and avoid post-traumatic stress disorder.

In the emergency room of a hospital, the triage is performed by a physician called MAO–médecin
d'accueil et d'orientation (reception and orientation physician), and a nurse called IOA–infirmière
d'organisation et d'accueil (organisation and reception nurse). Some hospitals and SAMU
organisations now use the "Cruciform" card referred to elsewhere.

[edit]Germany

Preliminary assessment of injuries is usually done by the first ambulance crew on scene, with this role
being assumed by the first Notarzt arriving at the scene. As a rule, there will be nocardiopulmonary
resuscitation, so patients who do not breathe on their own or develop circulation after their airways are
cleared, will be tagged "deceased". Also, not every major injury automatically qualifies for a red tag. A
patient with a traumatic amputation of the forearm might just be tagged yellow, have the bleeding
stopped, and then be sent to a hospital when possible. After the preliminary assessment, a more
specific and definite triage will follow, as soon as patients are brought to a field treatment facility.
There, they will be disrobed and fully examined by an emergency physician. This will take
approximately 90 seconds per patient.[28]

The German triage system also uses 4, sometimes 5 colour codes to denote the urgency of treatment.
[29]
Typically, every ambulance is equipped with a folder or bag with coloured ribbons or triage tags.
The urgency is denoted as follows:

categor
meaning consequences examples
y

acute danger immediate treatment, arterial lesions, internal

T1 (I)
for life transport as soon as possible haemorrhage, major amputations

constant observation and

minor amputations, flesh wounds,
T2 (II) severe injury rapid treatment, transport as
fractures and dislocations
soon as practical

treatment when practical,

minor injury or
T3 (III) transport and/or discharge minor lacerations, sprains, abrasions
no injury
when possible

T4 (IV) no or small observation and if possible severe injuries, uncompensated

chance of blood loss, negative neurological
 survival administration of analgesics assessment

collection and guarding of dead on arrival, downgraded from

T5 (V) deceased bodies, identification when T1-4, no spontaneous breathing
possible after clearing of airway

[edit]Israel

A simplified but effective description of the S.T.A.R.T. is taught in the Israeli army to non-medical
personnel: the injured who are lying on the ground silently should be prepared
forimmediate transportation; injured lying on the ground but screaming are injured whose
transportation can be delayed; and the walking wounded need help less urgently.[30] Non-medical
personnel have no authority to tag an injured person as deceased.

[edit]Japan

In Japan, the triage system is mainly used by health professionals. The categories of triage, in
corresponding color codes, are:

 Category I: Used for viable victims with potentially life threatening conditions.

 Category II: Used for victims with non-life threatening injuries, but who urgently require
treatment.

 Category III: Used for victims with minor injuries that do not require ambulance transport.

 Category 0: Used for victims who are dead, or whose injuries make survival unlikely.

[edit]Triage outcomes
[edit]Evacuation

Simple triage identifies which people need advanced medical care. In the field, triage also sets
priorities for evacuation to hospitals.[31] In S.T.A.R.T., casualties should be evacuated as follows:

 Deceased are left where they fell, covered if necessary; note that in S.T.A.R.T. a person is not
triaged "deceased" unless they are not breathing and an effort to reposition their airway has been
unsuccessful.

 Immediate or Priority 1 (red) evacuation by MEDEVAC if available or ambulance as they need

advanced medical care at once or within 1 hour. These people are in critical condition and would
die without immediate assistance.
  Delayed or Priority 2 (yellow) can have their medical evacuation delayed until
all immediate persons have been transported. These people are in stable condition but require
medical assistance.

 Minor or Priority 3 (green) are not evacuated until all immediate and delayed persons have
been evacuated. These will not need advanced medical care for at least several hours. Continue
to re-triage in case their condition worsens. These people are able to walk, and may only
require bandages and antiseptic.

[edit]Alternative care facilities

Alternative care facilities are places that are setup for the care of large numbers of patients, or are
places that could be so set up. Examples include schools, sports stadiums, and large camps that can
be prepared and used for the care, feeding, and holding of large numbers of victims of a mass
casualty or other type of event.[32] Such improvised facilities are generally developed in cooperation
with the local hospital, which sees them as a strategy for creating surge capacity. While hospitals
remain the preferred destination for all patients, during a mass casualty event such improvised
facilities may be required in order to divert low-acuity patients away from hospitals in order to prevent
the hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

[edit]Secondary (in-hospital) triage

In advanced triage systems, secondary triage is typically implemented by paramedics, battlefield
medical personnel or by skilled nurses in the emergency departments of hospitals during disasters,
injured people are sorted into five categories.[33]

(Black / Expectant: They are so severely injured that they will die of their injuries, possibly in hours or
days (large-area burns, severe trauma, lethal radiation dose), or in life-threatening medical crisis that
they are unlikely to survive given the care available (cardiac arrest, septic shock, severe head or chest
wounds); they should be taken to a holding area and givenpainkillers as required to reduce suffering.

 Red / Immediate: They require immediate surgery or other life-saving intervention, and have
first priority for surgical teams or transport to advanced facilities; they "cannot wait" but are likely to
survive with immediate treatment.

 Yellow / Observation: Their condition is stable for the moment but requires watching by
trained persons and frequent re-triage, will need hospital care (and would receive immediate
priority care under "normal" circumstances).

 Green / Wait (walking wounded): They will require a doctor's care in several hours or days but
not immediately, may wait for a number of hours or be told to go home and come back the next
day (broken bones without compound fractures, many soft tissue injuries).
  White / Dismiss (walking wounded):They have minor injuries; first aid and home care are
sufficient, a doctor's care is not required. Injuries are along the lines of cuts and scrapes, or minor
burns.

Note that this scale is more complex than simple triage. Medical professionals should refer to
professional texts and training references when implementing advanced triage; this listing is only for a
layman's understanding.

Some crippling injuries, even if not life-threatening, may be elevated in priority based on the available
capabilities. During peacetime, most amputations may be triaged "Red" because surgical reattachment
must take place within minutes, even though in all probability the person will not die without a thumb or
hand.

[edit]Hospital triage systems in the United States

Within the hospital system, the first stage on arrival at the emergency room is assessment by the
hospital triage nurse. This nurse will evaluate the patient's condition, as well as any changes, and will
determine their priority for admission to the Emergency Room and also for treatment.[34] Once
emergency assessment and treatment are complete, the patient may need to be referred to the
hospital's internal triage system.

For a typical inpatient hospital triage system, a triage physician will either field requests for admission
from the ER physician on patients needing admission or from physicians taking care of patients from
other floors who can be transferred because they no longer need that level of care (i.e. intensive care
unit patient is stable for the medical floor). This helps keep patients moving through the hospital in an
efficient and effective manner.

This triage position is often done by a hospitalist. A major factor contributing to the triage decision is
available hospital bed space. The triage hospitalist must determine, in conjunction with a hospital's
"bed control" and admitting team, what beds are available for optimal utilization of resources in order to
provide safe care to all patients. A typical surgical team will have their own system of triage for trauma
and general surgery patients. This is also true for neurology and neurosurgical services. The overall
goal of triage, in this system, is to both determine if a patient is appropriate for a given level of care
and to ensure that hospital resources are utilized effectively.

[edit]Bioethical implications in triage

Bioethical concerns have historically played an important role in triage decisions, such as the
allocation of iron lungs during the polio epidemics of the 1940s and of dialysis machinesduring the
1960s.[35] As many health care systems in the developed world continue to plan for an
expected influenza pandemic, bioethical issues regarding the triage of patients and the rationing of
care continue to evolve. Similar issues may occur for paramedics in the field in the earliest stages of
mass casualty incidents when large numbers of potentially serious or critical patients may be
combined with extremely limited staffing and treatment resources.

[edit]Ventilator rationing
In a potential influenza pandemic, it is anticipated that, as hospitals and treatment centers become
overwhelmed, shortages of critical equipment such as ventilators will occur. Medications may run
short. Supply chains may fail. Methods will be required for determining who will receive access to life
saving technologies, and who will not. For example, if a hypothetical emergency department has all
three of its ventilators currently in use for elderly patients with influenza, who will not survive without
them, how should it act when paramedics arrive with a forty year old, otherwise healthy patient who is
being ventilated due to influenza, but for whom no hospital ventilator is currently available. A similar
concern arises as to whether long-term patients in chronic care facilities should be removed from life-
support to provide their ventilators to acutely ill influenza patients.[36]

A New York State Workgroup headed by psychiatrist Tia Powell proposed guidelines for such triage in
1997.[37][38] The Workgroup excluded certain groups of patients from eligibility for life support during a
pandemic: those with metastatic cancer, severe brain damage, multiple cardiac arrests and organ
failure. Among those excluded were dialysis patients. Emergency medicine expert Art Kellerman
of Emory University has argued that "[t]his kind of thinking, as scary or even horrifying as it may seem,
is absolutely critical and is much better done now than on the fly in the middle of a pandemic."[39]

Around the world, practitioners, bioethicists and others are wrestling with these questions. Research
continues into alternative care, and various centers propose medical decision-support models for such
situations.[40] Some of these models are purely ethical in origin, while others attempt to use other forms
of clinical classification of patient condition as a method of standardized triage.[41]