Application of Delphi method in the development of emergency triage criteria for patients with non-traumatic chest pain

Abstract

Objective To construct a suitable triage tool foremergency nurses in China for patients with non-traumatic chest pain. Methods Based on the framework of Standardized Procedure of Hospital Emergency Departments, through reading the relevant literature at home and abroad, in-depth interviews with triage nurses and clinical observation, a preliminary design of triage items for patients with non-traumatic chest pain was made, and the severity of patients was divided into three levels. Using Delphi expert consultation method, through two rounds of consultation with 27 experts, preliminary indicators and classification criteria were extracted and determined. Results The effective recovery rates of the two rounds of questionnaires were 100% and 96.1%, respectively; the expert authority coefficient was 0.75 and 0.78, and the Kendall's W coordination coefficient of the two rounds of expert consultation was 0.397 and 0.487 (P<0.01) . After two rounds of expert consultation, the coefficient of variation of the indicators ranged from 0.00 to 0.22. After two rounds of expert consultation, five indicators (chest pain characteristics, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, finger pulse oxygen, electrocardiogram) in triage were finally determined. Each index was classified intoⅠ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ according to the critical degree. Conclusions The application of Delphi method in determining the indicators of emergency triage criteria for patients with non-traumatic chest pain has high reliability and scientificity, and is suitable for emergency nurses to use. Key words: Emergency management; Non-traumatic chest pain; Triage criteria; Delphi technique