[Respiratory triage classification in a hospital converted to attend COVID-19 pandemic]

The classification of respiratory triage is important, since its objective is reducing the risk of contagion and identifying the patient with respiratory symptoms.

To compare the respiratory triage classification at admission of patients with COVID-19 and with the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2 scale.

Observational, comparative, cross-sectional, retrospective study. 398 records of patients admitted to Respiratory Triage of a second level hospital were included. The triage color at admission was compared with the color in the re-classification with NEWS 2 scale. For the statistical analysis, percentages and frequencies were used; for qualitative variables, it was used chi-squared with a p value < 0.05.

The average age was 57 years. The most frequent gender was male with 60.3%, and their main signs and symptoms were dyspnea 45.7%, coughing 41.3% and fever 32.7%; for women, the frequency was 39.7% and the main symptoms were dyspnea 32.2%, coughing 26.5% and headache 23.9%. The most frequent comorbidities in male and female were, respectively, cardiovascular disease in 20.3% and 19.7%, type 2 diabetes in 17.9% and 14.5%, and chronic kidney disease in 5.2% and 4.7%. The classified color in Respiratory Triage with the highest percentaje at admission was yellow with 64.%; however, with the NEWS 2 re-classification the color with the highest percentage was red, with 50.8%.

The classification was performed inadequately, since only 21.8% were compatible with both classifications.