South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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OBJECTIVES. To evaluate pain incidence and pain management in a South African paediatric trauma unit, and to compare the usefulness of 5 different assessment tools. DESIGN. ⋯ Pain and anxiety incidences in this paediatric trauma unit are relatively low. Implementation of a standard pain assessment tool in the emergency department triage system can improve pain management. The AHTPS is the most promising for use in non-Western settings.
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BACKGROUND. The Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) is used to monitor medical inpatients in hospitals in the developed world. The South African Triage Score (SATS) was developed from the MEWS, and its use throughout South Africa has been proposed. ⋯ CONCLUSION. Our study supports use of the SATS as a primary triage score in South African urban and rural hospitals. The SATS is superior to the MEWS as a triage scoring system in a rural hospital ED in KZN, its rates of under- and over-triage falling within the limits of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACSCOT) guidelines.