Emergency Department and Triage Score

Flashcards about Emergency Department and Triage Score.

Triaging

A clinical skill that distinguishes emergency nurses from other clinical areas, involving sorting and prioritizing patient care needs.

Triage

The first step in patient management in the emergency department (ED), completed by a trained registered nurse upon arrival.

Australasian Triage Scale (ATS)

A scale used to allocate patients into one of five triage categories in the emergency department.

ATS Category 1

Immediately life-threatening (or imminent risk of deterioration). Critically ill patients that require immediate transfer to a resuscitation area.

ATS Category 2

Imminently life-threatening. Patients ‘at high risk’ of critical deterioration or have very severe pain from any cause. Assessment and treatment need to commence within 10 min

ATS Category 3

Potentially life-threatening or situational urgency. Patients have significant illness or injury and should have assessment and treatment commenced within 30 min of presentation.

ATS Category 4

Potentially serious. The patient's condition may deteriorate, or adverse outcome may result if assessment and treatment is not commenced within 1 h of arrival.

ATS Category 5

Less urgent. The patient's condition is minor or chronic; acute symptoms of minor illness, symptoms of chronic disease or with a duration of greater than 1 week. Symptoms or clinical outcome will not be significantly affected if assessment and treatment are delayed up to 2 h from arrival.