Field-Triage, Hospital-Triage and Triage-Assessment: A Literature Review of the Current Phases of Adult Trauma Triage
- PMID: 33605709
- DOI: 10.1097/TA.0000000000003125
Field-Triage, Hospital-Triage and Triage-Assessment: A Literature Review of the Current Phases of Adult Trauma Triage
Abstract
Despite major improvements in the United States trauma system over the past two decades, prehospital trauma triage is a significant challenge. Undertriage is associated with increased mortality, and overtriage results in significant resource overuse. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma benchmarks for undertriage and overtriage are not being met. Many barriers to appropriate field triage exist, including lack of a formal definition for major trauma, absence of a simple and widely applicable triage mode, and emergency medical service adherence to triage protocols. Modern trauma triage systems should ideally be based on the need for intervention rather than injury severity. Future studies should focus on identifying the ideal definition for major trauma and creating triage models that can be easily deployed. This narrative review article presents challenges and potential solutions for prehospital trauma triage.
Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
-
Using a multidisciplinary and evidence-based approach to decrease undertriage and overtriage of pediatric trauma patients.J Pediatr Surg. 2016 Sep;51(9):1518-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2016.04.010. Epub 2016 Apr 22. J Pediatr Surg. 2016. PMID: 27157260 Clinical Trial.
-
Accuracy of Prehospital Triage in Selecting Severely Injured Trauma Patients.JAMA Surg. 2018 Apr 1;153(4):322-327. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.4472. JAMA Surg. 2018. PMID: 29094144 Free PMC article.
-
Enhancing Performance of the National Field Triage Guidelines Using Machine Learning: Development of a Prehospital Triage Model to Predict Severe Trauma.J Med Internet Res. 2024 Sep 30;26:e58740. doi: 10.2196/58740. J Med Internet Res. 2024. PMID: 39348683 Free PMC article.
-
Determination of mis-triage in trauma patients: a systematic review.Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2019 Oct;45(5):821-839. doi: 10.1007/s00068-019-01097-2. Epub 2019 Feb 23. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2019. PMID: 30798344
-
Accuracy of prehospital triage protocols in selecting severely injured patients: A systematic review.J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2017 Aug;83(2):328-339. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000001516. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2017. PMID: 28452898
Cited by
-
Prospective validation of a hospital triage predictive model to decrease undertriage: an EAST multicenter study.Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024 May 2;9(1):e001280. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2023-001280. eCollection 2024. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2024. PMID: 38737811 Free PMC article.
-
Data-driven identification of urgent surgical procedures for use in trauma outcomes measurement.Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2025 May 21;10(2):e001783. doi: 10.1136/tsaco-2025-001783. eCollection 2025. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open. 2025. PMID: 40406235 Free PMC article.
-
Assessment of Trauma Team Activation Fees by US Region and Hospital Ownership.JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Jan 3;6(1):e2252520. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.52520. JAMA Netw Open. 2023. PMID: 36692878 Free PMC article.
-
Redefining Trauma Triage for Elderly Adults: Development of Age-Specific Guidelines for Improved Patient Outcomes Based on a Machine-Learning Algorithm.Medicina (Kaunas). 2025 Apr 23;61(5):784. doi: 10.3390/medicina61050784. Medicina (Kaunas). 2025. PMID: 40428742 Free PMC article.
-
Markers of Futile Resuscitation in Traumatic Hemorrhage: A Review of the Evidence and a Proposal for Futility Time-Outs during Massive Transfusion.J Clin Med. 2024 Aug 9;13(16):4684. doi: 10.3390/jcm13164684. J Clin Med. 2024. PMID: 39200824 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Pfeifer R, Halvachizadeh S, Schick S, Sprengel K, Jensen KO, Teuben M, Mica L, Neuhaus V, Pape HC. Are pre-hospital trauma deaths preventable? A systematic literature review. World J Surg . 2019;43(10):2438–2446.
-
- MacKenzie EJ, Rivara FP, Jurkovich GJ, Nathens AB, Frey KP, Egleston BL, Salkever DS, Scharfstein DO. A national evaluation of the effect of trauma-center care on mortality. N Engl J Med . 2006;354(4):366–378.
-
- Tignanelli CJ, Vander Kolk WE, Mikhail JN, Delano MJ, Hemmila MR. Noncompliance with American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma recommended criteria for full trauma team activation is associated with undertriage deaths. J Trauma Acute Care Surg . 2018;84(2):287–294.
-
- Hashmi ZG, Haut ER, Efron DT, Salim A, Cornwell EE 3rd, Haider AH. A target to achieve zero preventable trauma deaths through quality improvement. JAMA Surg . 2018;153(7):686–689.
-
- Zocchi MS, Hsia RY, Carr BG, Sarani B, Pines JM. Comparison of mortality and costs at trauma and nontrauma centers for minor and moderately severe injuries in California. Ann Emerg Med . 2016;67(1):56–67.e5.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous