Work of Breathing Assessment in Triage Scale

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Difficulty Breathing; Hypoxemia; Shortness of Breath; Respiratory Symptoms; Cough
• Interventions: Other: Canadian Triage Assessment Scale (CTAS)

• Registration Number: NCT05479929
• Lead Sponsor: CHRISTUS Health

Brief Summary

The proposed research study will be a prospective observational study designed to validate the Canadian Triage Assessment Scale (CTAS) in regard to work of breathing in patients in the emergency department. The investigators will assess inter-rater agreement between nurses \& emergency physicians for assessment of work of breathing.

Detailed Description

Investigators will enroll a convenience sample of consenting patients who present to the emergency department with a chief complaint related to respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, cough, difficulty breathing, hypoxemia, or any other respiratory related complaint.

Following consent and in a blinded fashion, the nurse \& emergency physician will be asked to evaluate the patient's work of breathing into three subjective categories: mild, moderate, or severe. The two evaluators will not be aware of the others evaluation of the patient. Evaluators will also be asked to predict the patients likely need for intervention \& disposition.

Subsequently, investigators will perform a chart review to determine the patient's clinical interventions, outcomes, and dispositions, and evaluate the assessment of the patients work of breathing.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2020-10-30
• Study First Submitted: 2022-07-21
• Study First Submitted QC: 2022-07-27
• Study First Posted: 2022-07-29
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-04
• Last Update Posted: 2025-03-06
• Primary Completion: 2025-06
• Study Completion: 2025-10

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 39

Inclusion Criteria

• 18 years of age of older
• Presenting to the emergency department with a chief complaint of any type of respiratory symptom.

Exclusion Criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Refusal to consent to study
• Incarcerated patients
• Pregnant patients
• Unable to complete survey due to clinical instability, severe pain, or disorientation determined by a study physician.

Study & Design

• Study Type: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Design: Not specified

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Patients with Respiratory Symptoms	Canadian Triage Assessment Scale (CTAS)	The Canadian Triage Assessment Scale (CTAS) will be assessed via patient survey form and electronic chart review.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Inter-rater agreement between nurses and emergency physicians for the respiratory component of the Canadian Assessment Scale (CTAS)	24 months	The CTAS is utilized to qualitatively define work of breathing as severe, moderate, or mild. Kappa will be calculated to assess inter-rater reliability

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

CHRISTUS Spohn Hospital; 🇺🇸 Corpus Christi, Texas, United States