• Ozge Yildirim, Aysun Sahin, Senem Derya Tatar, Mustafa Yilmaz Gok, Akkan Avci, and Sadiye Yolcu Seven.
• Department of Emergency, Health Science University, Adana City Reseach and Training Hospital, 01060, Adana, Turkey.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2024 Aug 1; 193 (4): 205120592051-2059.

BackgroundTriage refers to classifying and prioritizing patients based on the severity of their injuries or illnesses in the health care setting. The increasing number of elderly patients seeking care in emergency departments (EDs) highlights the need for special attention to the unique needs of this patient population.AimWe aimed to compare the qSOFA, Emergency Severity Index (ESI), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), and Manchester Triage System (MTS) scores to assist ED physicians in assessing the severity of elderly patients' clinical conditions and triaging them appropriately.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 1066 patients aged 65 and over who presented to our ED as outpatients or by ambulance between September 1, 2022, and August 30, 2023. Scoring systems at the time of admission to the ED were recorded separately for outpatients and arriving by ambulance.ResultsAccording to the qSOFA, patients with a score of 0 were 0.976 times less likely to arrive by ambulance compared to those scoring 1 and above (OR = 0.976, p = .934). According to the NEWS, patients in the moderate-risk category were 0.447 times less likely to arrive by ambulance (OR = 0.447, p = .054). According to the ESI score, patients requiring high resource use with normal vital signs were 146.758 times more likely to arrive by ambulance (OR = 146.758, p = .001).ConclusionSignificant differences in patients' methods of presentation to the ED were observed based on the MTS, qSOFA, NEWS, and ESI scores.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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