Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of telephone triage of callers with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in Dutch out-of-hours primary care: A retrospective observational study.

Background: Anecdotal reports suggest that missed diagnosis in general practice during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a drop in life-threatening events (LTEs) detected in hospitals.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of urgency allocation by telephone triage of patients with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC). Accuracy is defined as the correct allocation of high urgency to patients with LTEs and low urgency to those without.

The Role of Language in Remote Healthcare Triage: A Meta-Aggregative Review.

Aim(s): To provide an overview of evidence on the role of language in remote healthcare services prioritisation, from now on termed triage. This study synthesises literature, to better understand how language affects triage interactions, aiming to improve these processes.

Design: We conducted a meta-aggregative review.

Additional predictors of stroke and transient ischaemic attack in BEFAST positive patients in out-of-hours emergency primary care.

Introduction: In patients suspected of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), rapid triaging is imperative to improve clinical outcomes. For this purpose, balance-eye-face-arm-speech-time (BEFAST) items are used in out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC). We explored the risk of stroke and TIA among BEFAST positive patients calling to the OHS-PC, and assessed whether additional predictors could improve risk stratification.

Diabetes and risk of acute coronary syndrome in callers with chest discomfort: Cross-sectional study in out-of-hours primary care.

Aims: We investigated the differences in prevalence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by presence versus absence of diabetes in males and females with chest discomfort who called out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC).

Methods: A cross-sectional study performed in the Netherlands. Patients who called the OHS-PC in the Utrecht region, the Netherlands between 2014 and 2017 with acute chest discomfort were included.

Accuracy of urgency allocation in patients with shortness of breath calling out-of-hours primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC), semi-automatic decision support tools are often used during telephone triage. In the Netherlands, the Netherlands Triage Standard (NTS) is used. The NTS is mainly expert-based and evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of the NTS' urgency allocation against clinically relevant outcomes for patients calling with shortness of breath (SOB) is lacking.