Quality in triage: indicators in patients with respiratory disease.

Objectives: The objective was to apply quality indicators in respiratory disease triage during a set time period.

Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive, and comparative study of all patients attending the emergency department of Acosta Ñu Children's Hospital with breathing difficulty, between January 1 and July 31, 2011.

Results: Two thousand five hundred eighty-two patients were included in the study. The delay in medical care according to severity of breathing difficulty was as follows: for critical patients, 1 minute (100% compliance); for emergencies, 6.4 minutes (93.4% compared with 95% standard); for urgencies, 15.8 minutes (90% compared with the standard 90%); and for semiurgencies, 35 minutes (92.4% vs. 85% standard). Regarding to the admission-triage time indicator: mean time was 6.1 minutes; 2220 patients (86%) were classified in less than 10 minutes from the time of hospital admission, and 2453 (95%) were evaluated before 15 minutes. Respiratory rate was recorded in 2368 patients (91.7%), and pulse oximetry in 2443 (94.6%). Both parameters were recorded in 2271 children (88%). Errors in classification were detected, mainly tendency to underestimate the risk or exacerbate the clinical situation; 441 patients underwent subtriage (20.5%), and 44 overtriage (1.7%). There were drawbacks to classify emergencies error rate 45.8% (P < 0.00001). Relationship between pathophysiologic diagnosis and triage level was significant (P < 0.00001).

Conclusions: Indicators of triage quality were acceptably met in respiratory disease. Breathing difficulty was identified and classified as urgent, although problems arouse at differentiation between moderate and severe dyspnea.