A review of triage practices and evolution of Christian Medical College, Vellore triage system (CMCTS) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Triage is practiced in hospitals around the world and has proved its worth in identifying and prioritizing sick patients for emergency resuscitation, especially in resource-limited settings. Both formal and informal systems are utilized in different health centers to differentiate between patients with varying severity of illness. The Christian Medical College, Vellore Triage System (CMCTS) developed at our emergency department (ED) in 1997 is a four-category system that makes this differentiation based on presenting symptoms, signs, and predefined physiological parameters. In our ED, triaging is performed by a triage team composed of both nursing personnel and emergency physicians. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our triaging system was modified to segregate potential COVID and non-COVID patients into different zones for containment and for safety of healthcare workers.

Keywords

• covid-19
• emergency department
• hospital triage systems
• triage