Pediatric triage systems in hospital emergencies. Bibliographic review

Methodology: Bibliographic research in Medline, Cochrane Library, Cuiden, PubMed, MEDES and SciELO databases about triage systems in the pediatric population. SIGN, CASPe and Berra et al. instruments were used for the evaluation of them. Results: A total of 25 high quality articles were included. The Manchester Classification System (MTS), the Emergency Severity Index (ESI), the Pediatric Evaluation Triangle (TEP), the Canadian Pediatric Triage and Acuity Scale (PaedCTAS) and the Early Warning System (SAT) were the most common triage systems for pediatric care in hospital and had the best scores regarding validity and reliability. The sensitivity is 79, 90, 81, 85 and 80% respectively, and the specificity is 85, 80, 87, 80 and 85% respectively. Alternative triage systems and specific designs are also taken into account instead of traditional ones. Discussion: The competencies of the triage nurse should be linked to the assignment of the classification level and to other competencies. Clinical judgment and reasoning allow initiating care planning. Future studies are necessary to assess the benefits and / or difficulties of triage systems in different settings and to explore aspects that link their use in clinical care with care planning.