Factors associated with triage assignment of emergency department patients ultimately diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this study was to explore factors associated with the triage category assigned by the triage nurse for patients ultimately diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction.


METHODS
This was a retrospective analysis of 12 months of data, on adult emergency department patients ultimately diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction. Data were obtained from hospital databases and included patient demographics, patient clinical characteristics and nurses' experience.


RESULTS
Of the 153 patients, 20% (95% CI: 14-27%) were given a lower urgency triage category than recommended by international guidelines. Compared to patients who were triaged Australasian Triage Category 1 or 2, patients with an Australasian Triage Category 3-5 were older (mean age 76 versus 68 years), more likely to be female (63% versus 32%), more likely to present without chest pain (93% versus 35%) and less likely to have a cardiac history (3.3% versus 17.9%). A slightly higher proportion of patients Australasian Triage Category 3-5 were triaged by an experienced nurse (50%) compared to patients categorised Australasian Triage Category 1-2 (35.2%) but this finding did not reach statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
One in five presentations was given a lower urgency triage category than recommended by international guidelines, potentially leading to delays in medical treatment. The absence of chest pain was the defining characteristic in this group of patients, along with other factors identified by previous research such as being of female sex and elderly.
['Ryan|Kimberley|K|', 'Greenslade|Jaimi|J|', 'Dalton|Emily|E|', 'Chu|Kevin|K|', 'Brown|Anthony F T|AF|', 'Cullen|Louise|L|']
D000367:Age Factors D000368:Aged D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital D005260:Female D019983:Guideline Adherence D006801:Humans D008297:Male D009203:Myocardial Infarction D011793:Queensland D012189:Retrospective Studies D012307:Risk Factors D012737:Sex Factors D014218:Triage
Triage Emergency department Myocardial infarction Chest pain Emergency nursing