Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37235721›Full record

ArticleJMIR formative research2023

Implementation of a Triage Protocol Outside the Hospital Setting for Timely Referral During the COVID-19 Second Wave in Chennai, India.

Alby John, Jagadeesan M, Polani Rubeshkumar, Parasuraman Ganeshkumar, Hemalatha Masanam Sriramulu, Manish Narnaware, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Prabhdeep Kaur

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR formative research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Global emergency medicine: A scoping review of the literature from 2023.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2025
    Article
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

8 authors.

Alby JohnGreater Chennai Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4034-4425
Jagadeesan MGreater Chennai Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9643-8116
Polani RubeshkumarIndian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0418-7592
Parasuraman GaneshkumarIndian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7466-7965
Hemalatha Masanam SriramuluGreater Chennai Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9646-3688
Manish NarnawareGreater Chennai Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2853-7251
Gagandeep Singh BediGreater Chennai Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2763-456X
Prabhdeep KaurIndian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, India.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2605-3739

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Indexed as

community healthCOVID-19health care systemhealth disparityimplementationIndiaLMIClow- and middle-income countrieslow incomelow-resource settingpatient carepulse oximeterself-managementtriage

Identifiers

PMID37235721
PMCPMC10758940

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.