Role of the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale to predict resource utilization in pediatric emergency center
- Author:
Jun Hyuk KWON
1
;
Dong Wook LEE
;
Jae Woo KIM
;
Hyung Jun MOON
;
Doh Eui KIM
;
Hyun Jung LEE
;
Dong Kil JEONG
;
Hyun Joon KIM
;
Jung Won LEE
Author Information
1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan
- Publication Type:Original Article
- From:Journal of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
2021;32(4):371-376
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
Objective:Triage in the emergency department is important as mistriage leads to inefficient use of resources. The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) was developed in 2012 and has been implemented in emergency departments nationwide since January 2016. The purpose of this study was to determine whether KTAS can predict resource use in a pediatric emergency center.
Methods:From October to December 2019, a retrospective analysis was conducted by a review of medical records. Demographic data, KTAS grades, Emergency Severity Index (ESI) as an indicator of resource utilization and details of the use of each resource were collected. Patients were divided into non-trauma and trauma groups. KTAS grades 1 and 2 were defined as the severe group, grade 3 was the moderate group, and grades 4 and 5 were defined as the mild group. We investigated whether triage using KTAS is related to resource utilization.
Results:In the non-trauma group, ESI, length of stay in the emergency department, and hospitalization were significantly correlated with the KTAS groups. In the trauma group, there was no significant difference between the moderate and mild groups in the above variables except for hospitalization. This was because there was no significant difference in sedation, procedure, and intravenous injection, in the trauma group.
Conclusion:The KTAS triage helped predict resource utilization in the non-trauma group, but not in the trauma group especially between the moderate and mild groups. Additional research will be needed to predict resource utilization in children with trauma.
