Triage Strategies for COVID-19 Cases: A Scope Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid development and implementation of patient triage strategies.
• Understanding diverse triage approaches is crucial for managing healthcare demands during public health crises.
• Existing literature needed mapping to synthesize current COVID-19 triage practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map and analyze COVID-19 triage strategies documented in the literature.
• To identify and understand the application of these strategies across various healthcare and public health contexts.
• To explore the forms and experiences associated with different triage methods.

Main Methods:

• A scope review methodology was employed, searching CINAHL, PubMed, and LILACS databases, supplemented by a hand-search.
• Included studies and institutional documents published between 2019 and 2020.
• Thematic analysis was conducted on 40 selected articles, focusing on triage strategies and their implementation.

Main Results:

• Five primary COVID-19 triage strategies were identified: health services, digital/remote, community, home visit, and airport/port triage.
• Triage forms encompassed risk classification, diagnosis, and defining patient management pathways.
• A notable trend was the increased utilization of remote technological resources and simplified algorithms.

Conclusions:

• Diverse triage strategies were developed and deployed globally to manage COVID-19 cases.
• Digital and remote triage methods show significant potential for efficient patient assessment and resource allocation.
• Adaptation of existing tools with simplified algorithms is a key trend in pandemic triage.