Triage Decisions Involving Pregnancy-Capable Patients: Educational Deficits and Emergency Nurses' Perceptions of Risk

In areas where obstetric services are not available, emergency departments often become the default for unplanned obstetric care, yet emergency nurses are not universally trained in the identification and treatment of obstetric emergencies. The purpose of this study was to explore emergency nurses' perception of acuity in the triage of pregnant or postpartum patients presenting to the emergency department with high-risk complaints and to identify facilitators and challenges to the accurate identification and treatment of these patients.

A mixed-methods study was conducted using chart review data (N = 12,766) and focus group data (N = 39) from five emergency departments in the eastern United States.

In 86.5% of cases, pregnancy status was not documented. Ninety-four percent of pregnant patients with a systolic blood pressure over 140 mmHg were under-triaged. The overall theme of the qualitative data was acuity blindness, with identified barriers to assessment that included educational needs and triage processes and workflow issues.

There are significant knowledge deficits in the care of patients presenting with high-risk conditions associated with pregnancy. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2021;52(1):21-29.].