Wilson L O, Wilson F P, Wheeler M
Ann Emerg Med. 1981 Dec;10(12):636-40. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(81)80087-x.
Pediatric triage algorithms which were prospectively and retrospectively validated in a pediatric acute care facility serve as the basis for the development of a simplified pediatric triage checklist. This checklist is used by minimally trained nonprofessionals to assign safely the care urgency categories of the chief complaints of pediatric "walk-in" patients. This article describes the background of the pediatric triage checklist and its adaptation to a computerized triage system. This system not only allows for safe triage, but also creates a mechanism for rapid, organized retrieval of data from individual and group patient triage encounters that is useful for the study and planning of health care delivery.
