Organizing a COVID-19 triage unit: a Swiss perspective

Abstract

Background: With the rapid global spread of the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, urgent health-care measures have been implemented. We describe the organizational process in setting up a coronavirus disease 2019 triage unit in a Swiss tertiary care hospital. Methods: Our triage unit was setup outside of the main hospital building and consists of three areas: 1. Pre-triage, 2. Triage, and 3. Triage plus. The Pre-triage checkpoints identify any potential COVID-19infected patients and redirect them to the main Triage area where trained medical staff screen which patients undergo diagnostic testing. If testing is indicated, nasopharyngeal swabs are performed. If patients require further investigations, they are referred to Triage plus. At this stage, patients are then discharged home after additional testing or admitted to the hospital for management. Observations: A total of 1265 patients were screened between 10 March 2020 and 12 April 2020 at our Triage unit. Of these, 112 (8.9%) tested positive. 73 (65%) of the positivelytested patients were female and 39 (35%) were male. The mean age for all patients was 43.8 years (SD 16.3 years). Distinguishing between genders, mean age for females was 41.1 (SD 16.5) and mean age for males was 48.6 (SD 14.9), with females being significantly younger than males (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our triage unit was setup as part of a large-scale restructuring process. Current challenges include low sensitivity for test results as well as limited staff and resources. We hope that our experience will help other health care institutions develop similar triage systems.

Challenges and optimization strategies in medical imaging service delivery during COVID-19

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Managing the COVID-19 emergency: A coordination framework to enhance response practices and actions

“…A second positive example is the organization of the triage process outside the main buildings of big hospitals. A Swiss case ( Peros et al, 2020 ) presents a system consisting of three areas, i.e. pre-triage, triage, and triage plus.…”

Medical students as the volunteer workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic: Polish experience

“…The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in December 2019 that later turned into a pandemic has posed a tremendous challenge to different healthcare branches [ [1] , [2] , [3] ], and the immediate need to implement a sanitary regime and impose nationwide quarantines in a number of countries. This has led to a significant economic loss and a reorganized life for approximately 4 billion people under lockdown [ 4 , 5 ].…”