Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34911465›Full record

ArticleBMC emergency medicine2021

Factors associated with undertriage in patients classified by the need to visit a hospital by telephone triage: a retrospective cohort study.

Ryota Inokuchi, Xueying Jin, Masao Iwagami, Toshikazu Abe, Masatoshi Ishikawa, Nanako Tamiya

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ryota InokuchiDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan. intensivecareunits@gmail.com.
Xueying JinDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Masao IwagamiDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Toshikazu AbeDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Masatoshi IshikawaDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Nanako TamiyaDepartment of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tenno-dai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrehospital telephone triage stratifies patients into five categories, "need immediate hospital visit by ambulance," "need to visit a hospital within 1 hour," "need to visit a hospital within 6 hours," "need to visit a hospital within 24 hours," and "do not need a hospital visit" in Japan. However, studies on whether present and past histories cause undertriage are limited in patients triaged as need an early hospital visit. We investigated factors associated with undertriage by comparing patient assessed to be appropriately triaged with those assessed undertriaged.

methodsWe included all patients classified by telephone triage as need to visit a hospital within 1 h and 6 h who used a single after-hours house call (AHHC) medical service in Tokyo, Japan, between November 1, 2019, and November 31, 2020. After home consultation, AHHC doctors classified patients as grade 1 (treatable with over-the-counter medications), 2 (requires hospital or clinic visit), or 3 (requires ambulance transportation). Patients classified as grade 2 and 3 were defined as appropriately triaged and undertriaged, respectively.

resultsWe identified 10,742 eligible patients triaged as need to visit a hospital within 1 h and 6 h, including 10,479 (97.6%) appropriately triaged and 263 (2.4%) undertriaged patients. Multivariable logistic regression analyses revealed patients aged 16-64, 65-74, and ≥ 75 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.40 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.71-3.36], 8.57 [95% CI 4.83-15.2], and 14.9 [95% CI 9.65-23.0], respectively; reference patients aged < 15 years); those with diabetes mellitus (2.31 [95% CI 1.25-4.26]); those with dementia (2.32 [95% CI 1.05-5.10]); and those with a history of cerebral infarction (1.98 [95% CI 1.01-3.87]) as more likely to be undertriaged.

conclusionsWe found that older adults and patients with diabetes mellitus, dementia, or a history of cerebral infarction were at risk of undertriage in patients triaged as need to visit a hospital within 1 h and 6 h, but further studies are needed to validate these findings.

Indexed as

AmbulancesTriageAgedHospitalsHumansRetrospective StudiesTelephoneAfter-hours house callEmergency departmentOut-of-hours servicesTriageUndertriage

Identifiers

PMID34911465
PMCPMC8672574

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