Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Review Meta Analysis
Ability of triage nurses to predict, at the time of triage, the eventual disposition of patients attending the emergency department (ED): a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Exit block is the most significant cause of poor patient flow and crowding in the emergency department (ED). One proposed strategy to reduce exit block is early admission predictions by triage nurses to allow proactive bed management. We report a systematic review and meta-analysis of the accuracy of nurse prediction of admission at triage. ⋯ Triage nurse prediction of disposition is not accurate enough to expedite admission for ED patients on a one-to-one basis. Future research should explore the benefit, and best method, of predicting total demand.