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Development of stratification criteria of green codes in a pediatric emergency department: a pilot study
Silvia Fontanazza1, Emanuela Piccotti1, Marina Sartini2
1Department of Pediatric Emergency, "G. Gaslini" Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy.
Insights
Stratifying children in the emergency department (ED) green triage category can be achieved by considering age and pathology. This approach helps in better patient management and resource allocation within the ED.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Healthcare Management
- Triage Systems
Background:
- Emergency departments (EDs) often manage a high volume of patients.
- The green triage category typically includes non-critical cases.
- Effective stratification within the green category is essential for efficient ED operations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify criteria for stratifying children within the green triage category.
- To improve the accuracy of emergency department (ED) patient assessment.
- To optimize resource allocation for pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric patients with green triage codes at a children's hospital ED.
- Inclusion of data from February 2014 to January 2015.
- Analysis of patient demographics, admission reasons, procedures, length of stay, discharge status, and diagnoses.
Main Results:
- Out of 2875 patients, 8.97% were hospitalized and 4.70% required observation.
- Gastrointestinal diseases were most common in hospitalized/observed patients; respiratory diseases in discharged patients.
- Mean ages varied: 46 months for hospitalized/discharged without procedures, 54-61 months for observed/discharged with procedures.
Conclusions:
- Age and specific pathology are key factors for stratifying green triage patients.
- These preliminary findings suggest a potential model for refining triage protocols.
- Further research can validate these stratification criteria for pediatric EDs.
Background:
The aim of this study was to find stratification criteria in a group of children assigned to the green triage category at an emergency department (ED).
Methods:
We analyzed a sample of patients admitted to the ED of Gaslini Children's Hospital in Genoa between February 2014 and January 2015 who had been given a green code on triage. We analyzed the following parameters: age, sex, nationality, reason for admission, number and type of the procedures performed, length of stay in the ED, destination on discharge, color code and diagnosis on discharge.
Results:
Of the 2875 patients enrolled, 258 (8.97%) were hospitalized, 135 (4.70%) were placed in short intensive observation, 1609 (55.97%) were discharged from the ED without any intervention, 829 (28.83%) were discharged after undergoing procedures (blood tests, microbiology investigation, imaging, specialist evaluation) and 44 (1.5%) spontaneously left the ED. Among the patients who were hospitalized and those kept under short intensive observation, the most frequent discharge diagnosis was gastrointestinal disease; among those patients discharged with and without undergoing procedures, the most frequent diagnosis was respiratory disease. The mean age of patients admitted to hospital and of those discharged without undergoing procedures was 46 months, while the mean ages of patients kept under short intensive observation and of those discharged after undergoing procedures were 54 and 61 months, respectively.
Conclusions:
These preliminary results suggest that one of the main criteria of stratification of green codes on triage is the association between 2 variables: age and pathology.
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