Triage Categories In Emergency Room

The emergency severity index esi is a five level emergency department triage algorithm initially developed in 1999.

Triage categories in emergency room.

Intubation to be stabilized. The emergency severity index esi is a tool for use in emergency department ed triage. Patients given a rating 1 are those currently experiencing life threatening illnesses or injuries that require immediate attention including conditions like requiring resuscitation haemorrhages severe burns or anaphylaxis. Esi triage is based on the acuity of patients health care problems and the number of resources their care is anticipated to require.

The triage program works best when most of the people needing care are in the non urgent category. Ratings 1 and 2 relate to the most serious of illnesses and injuries. Emergency room triage like all facets of emergency medicine can be unpredictable and can fail. A triage nurse must have a college degree pass a state licensing exam and have certification in several emergency related areas such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation cpr.

The ats utilises five categories from category 1 an immediately life threatening condition that requires immediate simultaneous assessment and treatment to category 5 a chronic or minor condition which can be assessed and treated within two hours. The esi provides a method for categorizing ed patients by both acuity and resource needs. Triage may be used to prioritize the use of space or equipment such as operating rooms in a crowded medical facility. Triage is also commonly used in crowded emergency rooms and walk in clinics to determine which patients should be seen and treated immediately.

It is maintained by the agency for healthcare research and quality ahrq. If a hospital has a children s or pediatric emergency room young patients may be referred there which can reduce their overall wait time. The emergency severity index esi the most prevalent 5 level system used in the us is a 5 level triage rule that categorizes patients into five groups as follows. Esi 1 severely unstable must be seen immediately by a physician often require an intervention i e.

The esi triage algorithm yields rapid reproducible and clinically relevant stratification of patients into five groups from level 1 most urgent to level 5 least urgent. Triage ˈ t r iː ɑː ʒ t r i ˈ ɑː ʒ is the process of determining the priority of patients treatments by the severity of their condition or likelihood of recovery with and without treatment this rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. Triage when you arrive at the emergency department your first stop is triage. Some patients prefer to call upmc western maryland before making a trip to our emergency department.