A Retrospective Analysis of Urgency Levels

Objectives: The Manchester Triage System (MTS) has entered widespread international use in emergency departments (EDs). This retrospective study analyzes urgency of patient visits (PV) at the ED of the Clinic for Pediatrics at the Medical University of Innsbruck. Methods: We collected demographic and outcome information, including PVurgency levels (UL) according to theMTS, for 3 years (2015–2018), separating PV during regular office hours (ROH; 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM) from PV during afternoon and night hours (5:00 PM to 8:00 AM), and PVon weekdays from PVon weekends and bank holidays (WE). Results: A total of 56,088 PV were registered with a UL. Most (68.4%) PV were classified as nonurgent. During ROH, more PV per hour (PV/h) were recorded than during afternoon and night hours (3.0 PV/h vs 1.6 PV/ h), with a higher proportion of less urgent cases during ROH. On WE, the amount of PV/h was higher than on weekdays (3.6 PV/h vs 2.8 PV/h), with a higher proportion of nonurgent cases (74.6% vs 68.6%). Likelihoods of inpatient admission and hospital stay lengths increased in step with UL. Conclusions: The MTS proved useful for delineating UL distributions. The MTS analyses may be of value in managing EDs. Prompted by the results of our study, a general practice pediatric care unit was established to support the ED during WE.