Performance of a three-level triage scale in live triage encounters in an emergency department in Hong Kong.

Background: Despite its continued use in many low-volume emergency departments (EDs), 3-level triage systems have not been extensively studied, especially on live triage cases. We have modified from the Australasian Triage Scale and developed a 3-level triage scale, and sought to evaluate its validity, reliability, and over- and under-triage rates in real patient encounters in our setting.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study in a single ED with 24,000 attendances per year.