Predicting Pediatric Emergency Severity Index Level Based on Emergency Department Pre-Arrival Information

The ability to predict triage levels for incoming patients could give the emergency department charge nurse the ability to plan ahead so that appropriate nursing staffing is available upon arrival. The knowledge that patients assigned a pre-arrival triage level of 1 or 2 are more likely to be admitted gives the emergency department the ability to plan for bed placement and inpatient nursing resources earlier, potentially resulting in decreased emergency department length of stay. More study on these potential benefits is needed.