Open AccessTriage, Surge Capacity, and Epidemic Emergency Unit: An experience from the 2019 dengue outbreak at a Tertiary Care Centre
Author(s) -
Ashis Shrestha,
Sumana Bajracharya,
Darlene R. House
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of nepal medical association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.176
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1815-672X
pISSN - 0028-2715
DOI - 10.31729/jnma.4771
Subject(s) - medicine , triage , surge capacity , dengue fever , outbreak , medical emergency , unit (ring theory) , emergency department , emergency medicine , tertiary care , covid-19 , virology , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , nursing , mathematics education , mathematics
In September 2019, a dengue outbreak was observed in many non-endemic areas of Nepal. The emergency department of Patan Academy of Health Sciences also received febrile patients exceeding usual daily numbers. This surge of the patient was managed by epidemic triage and activation of surge capacity. A part of the surge plan was to activate an epidemic emergency unit. An observation ward adjacent to the emergency was used for the epidemic emergency unit. The febrile patients who were triaged yellow and green were treated in this unit. The patients who were triaged as Red were treated in the emergency department.