Assessing triage implementation and factors affecting it among patients visited Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital Adult Emergency Department, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2019-06
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Addis Abeba University
Abstract
Introduction: - Triage is sorting of patients according to their clinical need and the availability
of resource. It is important for resource limited setting in which the volume of patients visiting
to hospital is unpredicted. Even though the triage tool is important to sort the right patient to the
right place at the right time, some patients seen not triaged and evaluated properly as observed
and evidenced from many literature. So, this study identifies whether the tool is properly filled,
the parameters correctly measured and recorded, patients are well categorized and evaluated at
given time frame and the factors affecting its implementation.
Objectives: - To assess triage implementation and factors affecting it among patients visited
Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital Adult Emergency Department, Jan.2016 to Jan.2018. Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methodology: - Institutional based cross sectional study was conducted at Tikur Anbessa
Specialized Hospital Adult Emergency Department by selecting the patients chart using simple
random sampling and reviewing it which was visited and triaged in the past two years.
Descriptive statistics was used to compute individual variables, regression for associated variable
and Odds ratio at 95% CI to show strength of association.
Result: - From the total eligible sample 43.7% were incorrectly triaged. Among them 25.22%
(n=29) were over triaged while 74.78% (n=86) were under triage. Correct TEWS score
calculation for triage (AOR=3.019, 95% CI {1.139, 8.005, P=0.026), adult age group
(AOR=3.018, 95% CI {1.357, 6.712}, P=0.007) and use of clinical discriminator (AOR=8.582,
95% CI {1.873, 17.389} P= 0.000) were the factors significantly associated with triage of
patients. The use of clinical discriminator increase over triage proportion by 3.4 fold
(AOR=2.400, 95% CI {2.095, 5.515}, P=0.000).
Conclusion and recommendation: - Close to half of the patients are not triaged in proper way
in adult emergency. Thus, those patients are not getting adequate and efficient care since they are
not allocated in their respective area. Periodic monitoring and evaluation, training and awareness
creation and allocation of materials is needed to solve the problem.
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Keywords
Triage, under triage, over triage, implementation.