[Respiratory triage classification in a hospital converted to attend COVID-19 pandemic].

Abstract

Background: The classification of respiratory triage is important, since its objective is reducing the risk of contagion and identifying the patient with respiratory symptoms.

Objective: To compare the respiratory triage classification at admission of patients with COVID-19 and with the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) 2 scale.

Material and methods: Observational, comparative, cross-sectional, retrospective study. 398 records of patients admitted to Respiratory Triage of a second level hospital were included. The triage color at admission was compared with the color in the re-classification with NEWS 2 scale. For the statistical analysis, percentages and frequencies were used; for qualitative variables, it was used chi-squared with a p value < 0.05.

Results: The average age was 57 years. The most frequent gender was male with 60.3%, and their main signs and symptoms were dyspnea 45.7%, coughing 41.3% and fever 32.7%; for women, the frequency was 39.7% and the main symptoms were dyspnea 32.2%, coughing 26.5% and headache 23.9%. The most frequent comorbidities in male and female were, respectively, cardiovascular disease in 20.3% and 19.7%, type 2 diabetes in 17.9% and 14.5%, and chronic kidney disease in 5.2% and 4.7%. The classified color in Respiratory Triage with the highest percentaje at admission was yellow with 64.%; however, with the NEWS 2 re-classification the color with the highest percentage was red, with 50.8%.

Conclusion: The classification was performed inadequately, since only 21.8% were compatible with both classifications.