Related Experiment Videos
The Emergency Severity Index Version 4: reliability in pediatric patients
Yamini Durani1, Deena Brecher, Daniel Walmsley
1Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children/Thomas Jefferson University, 1600 Rockland Rd, Wilmington, DE 19899, USA. ydurani@nemours.org
Pediatric Emergency Care
|November 26, 2009
Summary
The Emergency Severity Index version 4 (ESI v.4) is a reliable pediatric triage tool. Experienced physicians and nurses showed high agreement using ESI v.4 for pediatric emergency assessments.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Triage Systems
Background:
- The Emergency Severity Index version 4 (ESI v.4) is a validated triage system for adult populations.
- Limited research exists on its reliability and agreement in pediatric settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the interrater reliability and agreement of the ESI v.4 triage system.
- To compare the performance of pediatric emergency medicine physicians and pediatric triage nurses using ESI v.4.
Main Methods:
- Pediatric emergency physicians and nurses underwent ESI v.4 training.
- Participants categorized 20 pediatric case scenarios.
- Interrater reliability was measured using unweighted and weighted Kappa statistics.
Main Results:
- Both physicians (weighted J = 0.92) and nurses (weighted J = 0.93) demonstrated high reliability.
- Overall agreement with standardized responses was 83% among participants.
- Experienced clinicians showed substantial agreement in triage category assignment.
Conclusions:
- The ESI v.4 is a reliable and effective triage tool for pediatric emergency departments.
- High agreement exists between physicians and nurses when utilizing the ESI v.4.
- The ESI v.4 can be confidently applied to pediatric patient triage by experienced professionals.