Towards patient self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department: sensitivity and specificity of a self-triage instrument

Eva S van Eijk; Jan J V Busschbach; Helma Monteban; Reinier Timman; Marijke Wefers Bettink-Remeijer

doi:10.1111/aos.12342

Towards patient self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department: sensitivity and specificity of a self-triage instrument

Eva S van Eijk, Jan J V Busschbach, Helma Monteban, Reinier Timman, Marijke Wefers Bettink-Remeijer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

PURPOSE: Trained ophthalmic triage staff may not constantly be available in the emergency department of a specialized ophthalmic hospital, particularly at night. To support the current triage process, the aim of this study was to develop an ophthalmic instrument of patient self-triage (ISET).

METHODS: A preliminary ISET, in the form of a pen-and-paper questionnaire, was refined and validated in a two-step procedure. In a first explorative step, we compared the results of the ISET with the results of the regular triage process during the day, that is, triage by a trained triage assistant in a specialized ophthalmic hospital. As several patients needed guidance completing the questionnaire, the ISET was subsequently refined. The second step was to test the validity of the refined ISET by again comparing the outcome of this triage with that of the triage assistant in the emergency department.

RESULTS: The first explorative step involved 279 patients and the final validation step 298. During the validation step, sensitivity of the ISET was 94.3% and specificity 76.4%.

CONCLUSION: The results show that the ISET is a sensitive and specific instrument for ophthalmic triage compared with a trained ophthalmic triage assistant.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	697-700
Number of pages	4
Journal	Acta Ophthalmologica
Volume	92
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.12342
Publication status	Published - Nov 2014

Keywords

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Diagnostic Self Evaluation
Emergency Service, Hospital
Female
Health Status
Hospitals, Special
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Ophthalmology/classification
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sickness Impact Profile
Surveys and Questionnaires
Triage/classification

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10.1111/aos.12342

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title = "Towards patient self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department: sensitivity and specificity of a self-triage instrument",

abstract = "PURPOSE: Trained ophthalmic triage staff may not constantly be available in the emergency department of a specialized ophthalmic hospital, particularly at night. To support the current triage process, the aim of this study was to develop an ophthalmic instrument of patient self-triage (ISET).METHODS: A preliminary ISET, in the form of a pen-and-paper questionnaire, was refined and validated in a two-step procedure. In a first explorative step, we compared the results of the ISET with the results of the regular triage process during the day, that is, triage by a trained triage assistant in a specialized ophthalmic hospital. As several patients needed guidance completing the questionnaire, the ISET was subsequently refined. The second step was to test the validity of the refined ISET by again comparing the outcome of this triage with that of the triage assistant in the emergency department.RESULTS: The first explorative step involved 279 patients and the final validation step 298. During the validation step, sensitivity of the ISET was 94.3% and specificity 76.4%.CONCLUSION: The results show that the ISET is a sensitive and specific instrument for ophthalmic triage compared with a trained ophthalmic triage assistant.",

keywords = "Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Diagnostic Self Evaluation, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, Health Status, Hospitals, Special, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Ophthalmology/classification, Sensitivity and Specificity, Sickness Impact Profile, Surveys and Questionnaires, Triage/classification",

author = "{van Eijk}, {Eva S} and Busschbach, {Jan J V} and Helma Monteban and Reinier Timman and {Wefers Bettink-Remeijer}, Marijke",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2014 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",

year = "2014",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1111/aos.12342",

language = "English",

volume = "92",

pages = "697--700",

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T1 - Towards patient self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department

T2 - sensitivity and specificity of a self-triage instrument

AU - van Eijk, Eva S

AU - Busschbach, Jan J V

AU - Monteban, Helma

AU - Timman, Reinier

AU - Wefers Bettink-Remeijer, Marijke

PY - 2014/11

Y1 - 2014/11

N2 - PURPOSE: Trained ophthalmic triage staff may not constantly be available in the emergency department of a specialized ophthalmic hospital, particularly at night. To support the current triage process, the aim of this study was to develop an ophthalmic instrument of patient self-triage (ISET).METHODS: A preliminary ISET, in the form of a pen-and-paper questionnaire, was refined and validated in a two-step procedure. In a first explorative step, we compared the results of the ISET with the results of the regular triage process during the day, that is, triage by a trained triage assistant in a specialized ophthalmic hospital. As several patients needed guidance completing the questionnaire, the ISET was subsequently refined. The second step was to test the validity of the refined ISET by again comparing the outcome of this triage with that of the triage assistant in the emergency department.RESULTS: The first explorative step involved 279 patients and the final validation step 298. During the validation step, sensitivity of the ISET was 94.3% and specificity 76.4%.CONCLUSION: The results show that the ISET is a sensitive and specific instrument for ophthalmic triage compared with a trained ophthalmic triage assistant.

AB - PURPOSE: Trained ophthalmic triage staff may not constantly be available in the emergency department of a specialized ophthalmic hospital, particularly at night. To support the current triage process, the aim of this study was to develop an ophthalmic instrument of patient self-triage (ISET).METHODS: A preliminary ISET, in the form of a pen-and-paper questionnaire, was refined and validated in a two-step procedure. In a first explorative step, we compared the results of the ISET with the results of the regular triage process during the day, that is, triage by a trained triage assistant in a specialized ophthalmic hospital. As several patients needed guidance completing the questionnaire, the ISET was subsequently refined. The second step was to test the validity of the refined ISET by again comparing the outcome of this triage with that of the triage assistant in the emergency department.RESULTS: The first explorative step involved 279 patients and the final validation step 298. During the validation step, sensitivity of the ISET was 94.3% and specificity 76.4%.CONCLUSION: The results show that the ISET is a sensitive and specific instrument for ophthalmic triage compared with a trained ophthalmic triage assistant.

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KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Diagnostic Self Evaluation

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KW - Health Status

KW - Hospitals, Special

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Ophthalmology/classification

KW - Sensitivity and Specificity

KW - Sickness Impact Profile

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Triage/classification

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ER -

Towards patient self-triage in the ophthalmic emergency department: sensitivity and specificity of a self-triage instrument

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Keywords

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