India experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave in the period of April-June 2021. A rapid rise in cases posed challenges to triaging patients in hospital settings. Chennai, the fourth largest metropolitan city in India with an 8 million population, reported 7564 COVID-19 cases on May 12, 2021, nearly 3 times higher than the number of cases in the peak of COVID-19 in 2020. A sudden surge of cases overwhelmed the health system. We had established standalone triage centers outside the hospitals in the first wave, which catered to up to 2500 patients per day. In addition, we implemented a home-based triage protocol from May 26, 2021, to evaluate patients with COVID-19 who were aged ≤45 years without comorbidities. Among the 27,816 reported cases between May 26 and June 24, 2021, a total of 16,022 (57.6%) were aged ≤45 years without comorbidities. The field teams triaged 15,334 (55.1%), and 10,917 (39.2%) patients were evaluated at triage centers. Among 27,816 cases, 19,219 (69.1%) were advised to self-isolate at home, 3290 (11.8%) were admitted to COVID-19 care centers, and 1714 (6.2%) were admitted to hospitals. Only 3513 (12.7%) patients opted for the facility of their choice. We implemented a scalable triage strategy covering nearly 90% of the patients in a large metropolitan city during the COVID-19 surge. The process enabled early referral of high-risk patients and ensured evidence-informed treatment. We believe that the out-of-hospital triage strategy can be rapidly implemented in low-resource settings.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/42798 | DOI Listing |
Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med
January 2025
Department of Acute Care, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Background: As iatrogenic hyperoxia has been related to adverse outcomes in critically ill patients, guidelines advise to titrate oxygen to physiological levels. In the prehospital setting where partial arterial oxygen (PaO) values are often not readily available, titration of oxygen is based on peripheral oxygen saturations (SpO2). In this study we aimed to investigate the efficacy of SpO guided oxygen titration in the prevention of hyperoxia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAsian J Med Humanit
January 2024
Faculté de Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Objectives: The overall goal of this article is to show that denial is one of the greatest obstacles to good practical judgment and is therefore a major problem in clinical ethics by examining its cognitive structure and the challenges it poses for clinical ethics consultation and intervention. In addition to clinical examples, excerpts of verbatim from citizen forums on triage protocols will be used to illustrate the manifestations of denial in citizens when faced with difficult choices.
Case Presentation: The initial waves of the pandemic and the alarming resurgence of cases with the emergence of highly transmissible variants have created increased pressure on many healthcare systems around the world.
BMJ Open
December 2024
Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Birmingham, UK.
Introduction: Despite unprecedented pressures on urgent and emergency care services, there is no clear consensus on how to provide acute medical care delivery in the UK. These pressures can lead to significant delays in care for patients presenting with emergencies when admitted via traditional routes through the emergency department. Historically, a separate pathway has existed where patients are directly admitted to acute medicine services without attending the emergency department.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
December 2024
School of Nutrition, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil.
BMJ Open
December 2024
Cardiology, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, Limburg, Netherlands.
Introduction: Ischaemic heart disease is the single most common cause of death worldwide. Traditionally, distinguishing patients with cardiac ischaemia from patients with less alarming disease, in prehospital triage of chest pain, is challenging for both general practitioners and ambulance paramedics. Less than 20% of patients with chest pain, transferred to the emergency department (ED), have an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and the transportation and analysis at the ED of non-ACS patients result in substantial healthcare costs and a great patient burden.
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