• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.231-241
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• 2023

Purpose: Overtriage and undertriage rates are critical metrics in trauma, influenced by both trauma team activation (TTA) criteria and compliance with these criteria. Analysis of undertriaged patients at a level I trauma center revealed suboptimal compliance with existing criteria. This study assessed triage patterns after implementing compliance-focused process interventions. Methods: A physician-driven, free-text alert system was modified to a nonphysician, hospital dispatcher-guided system. The latter employed dropdown menus to maximize compliance with criteria. The preintervention period included patients who presented between May 12, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The postintervention period incorporated patients who presented from May 12, 2021, through December 31, 2021. We evaluated appropriate triage, overtriage, and undertriage using the Standardized Trauma Assessment Tool. Statistical analyses were conducted with an α level of 0.05. Results: The new system was associated with improved compliance with existing TTA criteria (from 70.3% to 79.3%, P=0.023) and decreased undertriage (from 6.0% to 3.2%, P=0.002) at the expense of increasing overtriage (from 46.6% to 57.4%, P<0.001), ultimately decreasing the appropriate triage rate (from 78.4% to 74.6%, P=0.007). Conclusions: This study assessed a workflow change designed to improve compliance with TTA criteria. Improved compliance decreased undertriage to below the target threshold of 5%, albeit at the expense of increased overtriage. The decrease in appropriate triage despite compliance improvements suggests that the current criteria at this institution are not adequately tailored to optimally balance the minimization of undertriage and overtriage. This finding underscores the importance of improved compliance in evaluating the efficacy of TTA criteria.

• Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine
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• 제5권4호
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• pp.256-263
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• 2018

Objective We conducted a study to validate the effectiveness of the Korean criteria for trauma team activation (TTA) and compared its results with a two-tiered system. Methods This observational study was based on data from the Korean Trauma Data Bank. Within the study period, 1,628 trauma patients visited our emergency department, and 739 satisfied the criteria for TTA. The rates of overtriage and undertriage in the Korean one-tiered system were compared with the two-tiered system recommended by the American College of Surgery-Committee on Trauma. Results Most of the patient's physiologic factors reflected trauma severity levels, but anatomical factors and mechanism of injury did not show consistent results. In addition, while the rate of overtriage (64.4%) was above the recommended range according to the Korean criteria, the rate of undertriage (4.0%) was within the recommended range. In the simulated two-tiered system, the rate of overtriage was reduced by 5.5%, while undertriage was increased by 1.8% compared to the Korean activation system. Conclusion The Korean criteria for TTA showed higher rates of overtriage and similar undertriage rates compared to the simulated two-tier system. Modification of the current criteria to a twotier system with special considerations would be more effective for providing optimum patient care and medical resource utilization.

• 문화기술의 융합
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• 제8권6호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

이 연구는 119 응급 의료 서비스 팀을 위해 설계된 사전 및 사후 교육 실험을 활용하여 분류 교육 프로그램의 효과를 확인하기 위해 수행되었다. 목적: 이 연구는 분류 교육 프로그램에 참여한 119구급대원이 수행한 분류의 정확성에 대한 분류 교육 프로그램의 효과를 평가하였다. 연구 방법: 본 연구의 대상자는 119구급대원 119명으로, 프리젠테이션으로 구성된 20명의 모의환자가 제시되었다. 자료는 SPSS 21.0을 사용하여 분석하였다. 결과: 119명의 응급의료팀의 분류 정확도가 증가한 것으로 나타났다(p<.001). 그리고 과소 분류는 상당한 감소가 나타났다(p<.001). 또한 과대분류는 감소 되었으나 통계적으로 유의하지 않았다. 결론 : 본 연구에서 얻은 결과는 분류 교육 프로그램이 119구급대원의 다발성 부상 환자 또는 재난 피해자 분류의 정확성을 향상시키는데 효과적임을 보여주었다.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.13-17
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• 2020

Purpose: Accurate and appropriate prehospital field triage is essential for a trauma system. The Korean trauma system (established in 2014) uses the trauma field triage algorithm of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This study evaluated the suitability of the CDC field triage criteria for major trauma cases (injury severity score >15) in Korea. Methods: This retrospective cohort study evaluated trauma patients who presented at the authors' regional trauma center from January 1 to May 7, 2017. The undertriage and overtriage rates of each CDC field triage step were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed, and the area under the curve (AUC) was evaluated for each step. Results: Among the 1,009 enrolled patients, 168 (16.7%) had major trauma. The undertriage/overtriage rates of each step (steps I, II, III, and IV) of CDC field triage were 9.2%/47.4%, 6.3%/50.8%, 4.5%/59.4%, and 5.3%/78.9%, respectively. The AUC values of each CDC triage step were 0.722, 0.783, 0.791, and 0.615, respectively. The AUC values of the separate components of each step (physiologic criteria, anatomic criteria, mechanism-of-injury criteria, and special considerations) were 0.722, 0.648, 0.647, and 0.456, respectively. Conclusions: The CDC field triage system is acceptable, but not ideal, for Korean trauma care. If we follow the protocol, it would be preferable to omit step IV. The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale may be a good indicator for in-hospital triage. However, a new triage protocol that is simple to estimate on-scene while having good performance should be developed.

• 한국응급구조학회지
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• 제24권2호
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• pp.99-109
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• 2020

Purpose: Alcohol intoxication is frequently observed in patients with brain hemorrhage. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intoxication affects the Korean Triage and Acuity Stage (KTAS) level and the emergency medical process in emergency departments. Methods: This study was a retrospective observational study enrolled 253 brain hemorrhage patients (47 of those intoxicated) who visited the emergency medical center on public EMS ambulance from January. 1, 2017 to April, 30, 2019. Data were collected through the electronic medical record (EMR). KTAS level and time to computerized tomography (CT) were compared to evaluate whether inebriation affects care and examination processes. All data were analyzed using SPSS program. Results: Of the 47 patients intoxicated patients, 85.1% were male, and 74.5% accompanied by trauma. Initial KTAS level showed significant differences (77.2%; p=.000) when the level 3,4 was not drunk. The average time taken from triage to CT scans showed a significant difference of 24.81±23.72 (min) when the drunken state was not 58.38±56.54 (min)(p=.000). Conclusion: In patients with brain hemorrhage admitted to ED from public EMS, undertriage and delay after initial assessment were detected in inebriated patients. Careful initial evaluation and prompt medical response should be considered for patients transported by EMS.