Triage for resource-limited emergency care: why it matters

Abstract

Abstract Triage aims to identify and prioritize patients with time-sensitive health care needs. This process is particularly important when demand for emergency care exceeds the available resources. A small number of triage instruments have been purpose designed for low- and middle-income countries. Most recently, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières, has released the Interagency Integrated Triage Tool (IITT). Despite endorsement by leading global health agencies, little has been published regarding the IITT’s validity and reliability. Although triage is widely regarded as a critical tool for organizing emergency care services, many instruments have demonstrated suboptimal sensitivity for the detection of time-critical illness. There is a pressing need therefore to assess the performance of the IITT relative to other systems. Recent efforts to implement and evaluate the tool in the Western Pacific region will provide valuable insights into its validity, reliability and acceptability.