Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).

<h4>Background</h4>The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) was developed based on the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale. In patients with pain, to determine the KTAS level, the pain scale is considered; however, since the degree of pain is subjective, this may affec...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ji Hwan Lee, Yoo Seok Park, In Cheol Park, Hak Soo Lee, Ji Hoon Kim, Joon Min Park, Sung Phil Chung, Min Joung Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216519
_version_ 1818834269326278656
author Ji Hwan Lee
Yoo Seok Park
In Cheol Park
Hak Soo Lee
Ji Hoon Kim
Joon Min Park
Sung Phil Chung
Min Joung Kim
author_facet Ji Hwan Lee
Yoo Seok Park
In Cheol Park
Hak Soo Lee
Ji Hoon Kim
Joon Min Park
Sung Phil Chung
Min Joung Kim
author_sort Ji Hwan Lee
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) was developed based on the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale. In patients with pain, to determine the KTAS level, the pain scale is considered; however, since the degree of pain is subjective, this may affect the accuracy of KTAS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of KTAS in predicting patient's severity with the degree of pain used as a modifier.<h4>Method</h4>A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in an urban tertiary hospital emergency department (ED). We investigated patients over 16 years old from January to June 2016. The patients were divided into the pain and non-pain groups according to whether the degree of pain was used as a modifier or not. We compared the predictive power of KTAS on the urgency of patients between the two groups. Acute area registration in the ED, emergency procedure, emergency operation, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and 7-day mortality were used as markers to determine urgent patients.<h4>Results</h4>Overall, 24,253 patients were included in the study, with 9,175 (37.8%) in the pain group. The proportions of patients with KTAS 1-3 were 61.4% in the pain and 75.6% in the non-pain groups. Among patients with KTAS 2-3, the proportion of urgent patients was higher in the non-pain group than the pain group (p<0.001). The odds ratios for urgent patients at each KTAS level revealed a more evident discriminatory power of KTAS for urgent patients in the non-pain group. The predictability of KTAS for urgent patients was higher in the non-pain group than the pain group (area under the curve; 0.736 vs. 0.765, p-value <0.001).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Considering the degree of pain with KTAS led to overestimation of patient severity and had a negative impact on the predictability of KTAS for urgent patients.
first_indexed 2024-12-19T02:32:08Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4ec22b4286b54cdbac667d63c7686982
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-19T02:32:08Z
publishDate 2019-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-4ec22b4286b54cdbac667d63c76869822022-12-21T20:39:35ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032019-01-01145e021651910.1371/journal.pone.0216519Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).Ji Hwan LeeYoo Seok ParkIn Cheol ParkHak Soo LeeJi Hoon KimJoon Min ParkSung Phil ChungMin Joung Kim<h4>Background</h4>The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) was developed based on the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale. In patients with pain, to determine the KTAS level, the pain scale is considered; however, since the degree of pain is subjective, this may affect the accuracy of KTAS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of KTAS in predicting patient's severity with the degree of pain used as a modifier.<h4>Method</h4>A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted in an urban tertiary hospital emergency department (ED). We investigated patients over 16 years old from January to June 2016. The patients were divided into the pain and non-pain groups according to whether the degree of pain was used as a modifier or not. We compared the predictive power of KTAS on the urgency of patients between the two groups. Acute area registration in the ED, emergency procedure, emergency operation, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and 7-day mortality were used as markers to determine urgent patients.<h4>Results</h4>Overall, 24,253 patients were included in the study, with 9,175 (37.8%) in the pain group. The proportions of patients with KTAS 1-3 were 61.4% in the pain and 75.6% in the non-pain groups. Among patients with KTAS 2-3, the proportion of urgent patients was higher in the non-pain group than the pain group (p<0.001). The odds ratios for urgent patients at each KTAS level revealed a more evident discriminatory power of KTAS for urgent patients in the non-pain group. The predictability of KTAS for urgent patients was higher in the non-pain group than the pain group (area under the curve; 0.736 vs. 0.765, p-value <0.001).<h4>Conclusions</h4>Considering the degree of pain with KTAS led to overestimation of patient severity and had a negative impact on the predictability of KTAS for urgent patients.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216519
spellingShingle Ji Hwan Lee
Yoo Seok Park
In Cheol Park
Hak Soo Lee
Ji Hoon Kim
Joon Min Park
Sung Phil Chung
Min Joung Kim
Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
PLoS ONE
title Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
title_full Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
title_fullStr Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
title_full_unstemmed Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
title_short Over-triage occurs when considering the patient's pain in Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS).
title_sort over triage occurs when considering the patient s pain in korean triage and acuity scale ktas
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216519
work_keys_str_mv AT jihwanlee overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT yooseokpark overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT incheolpark overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT haksoolee overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT jihoonkim overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT joonminpark overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT sungphilchung overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas
AT minjoungkim overtriageoccurswhenconsideringthepatientspaininkoreantriageandacuityscalektas