Revisions to the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) Guidelines 2016

• Published in: Canadian journal of emergency medicine Vol. 19; no. S2; pp. S18 - S27
• Main Authors: Bullard, Michael J., Musgrave, Erin, Warren, David, Unger, Bernard, Skeldon, Thora, Grierson, Rob, van der Linde, Etienne, Swain, Janel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.07.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acute coronary syndromes; Ambulatory care; CAEP Position Statement/Dé Claration de L’ACMU; Canada; Complaints; Emergency medical care; Emergency Service, Hospital - standards; Emergency services; Geriatrics; Guidelines; Health services; Hospitals; Humans; Information systems; Nurses; Older people; Pain; Patient Acuity; Physicians; Pneumonia; Priorities; Revisions; Studies; Trauma; Triage - standards; Working groups; Canada; presenting complaint; education; time targets; revisions; emergency department; CTAS; CEDIS; triage
• ISSN: 1481-8035; 1481-8043
• DOI: 10.1017/cem.2017.365

CAEP Position Statement/Dé Claration de L'ACMU INTRODUCTION The Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) was introduced in 19991after studying the successful National Triage Scale (NTS) from Australia.2The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP), National Emergency Nurses Association (NENA), l'Association des médecins d'urgence du Québec (AMUQ), and the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC) formed the CTAS National Working Group to promote its use in Canada. Recognizing that children from neonate to adolescent were not adequately differentiated based on an adult centric triage tool the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) approached the CTAS NWG and in collaboration published the Canadian Paediatric Triage and Acuity Scale in 2001.3In 2003 the Canadian Emergency Department Information System (CEDIS) National Working Group published a standardized national ED presenting complaint list which offered an inviting framework for CTAS to build on.4In 2004 adult CTAS was reformulated, using the 17 CEDIS complaint groups and the 165 complaints, primary or 1storder modifiers were defined based on vital signs, pain, and mechanism of injury, to help nurses assign an appropriate triage score.5To further refine the appropriate prioritization, special or 2ndorder modifiers were identified for certain complaints or groups of complaints where the 1storder modifiers were inadequate. In 2008 there was a collective review of and update of the CEDIS complaint list, Adult CTAS and Paediatric CTAS to align them in terms of timing and of structural congruence by adding paediatric definitions and 2ndorder modifiers, and a few paediatric specific CEDIS complaints.6-8As noted previously the structure for CTAS based on...