Video triage in calls concerning children with fever at an out-of-hours medical helpline: a prospective quality improvement study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Parents often contact out-of-hours services due to worry concerning febrile children, despite the children rarely being severely ill. As telephone triage of children is challenging, many children are referred to hospital assessment. This study investigated if video triage resulted in more children staying at home. Secondary aims included safety, acceptability and feasibility of this new triage tool.

Methods

In this prospective quality improvement study, nurse call-handlers enrolled febrile children aged 3 months-5 years to video or telephone triage (1:1), with follow-up within 48 h after call. The setting was an out-of-hours call-center for non-urgent illness in Copenhagen, Denmark, receiving over 1 million calls annually and predominately staffed by registered nu

SUBMITTER: Gren C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10464404 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature