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Emergency Medical Services Clinician Accuracy Using the Pediatric Observation Priority Score

Caleb E Ward1,2, Trang Ha1, Graeme Morland-Tellez1

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's National Hospital.

Pediatric Emergency Care
|June 5, 2025
PubMed

Insights

US emergency medical services clinicians accurately used the Pediatric Observation Priority Score (POPS) in a controlled study. This triage tool can help identify low-risk pediatric patients for alternative emergency medical services disposition.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Research
  • Clinical Triage Tool Development

Background:

  • A lack of validated triage tools hinders the inclusion of low-acuity pediatric patients in alternative EMS disposition programs.
  • The Pediatric Observation Priority Score (POPS) is a UK-developed triage tool assessing vital signs, clinical observations, and medical history.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the accuracy of US EMS clinicians in assigning the POPS in a controlled setting.
  • To compare the accuracy of paramedics versus emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in POPS assignment.

Main Methods:

  • An observational study involved 50 EMS clinicians (32% paramedics, 68% EMTs) reviewing 10 patient videos.
  • Participants calculated POPS scores, which were compared against reference scores assigned by pediatric EMS physician experts.
  • Accuracy was measured by the proportion of assigned POPS within 2 points of the reference score.

Main Results:

  • EMS clinicians achieved a high overall accuracy, with 99% of assigned POPS within 2 points of the reference score.
  • Individual scenario accuracy ranged from 94% to 100%.
  • No significant difference in accuracy was found between paramedics and EMTs.

Conclusions:

  • US paramedics and EMTs demonstrated accuracy in assigning the POPS within a controlled environment.
  • Further research is required to validate POPS application in real-world patient encounters and establish disposition thresholds.
Abstract

Keywords:
emergency medical servicespediatricstriage

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