Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05765045

A Nursing Triage Protocol for Minor Orthopedic Traumata: the Effect on Flow Time, Quality of Care and Patient Satisfaction in an Emergency Department

In 2019, nearly half of all hospital contacts in Belgium took place through the emergency department, and more than a third of patients arrived after an accident or trauma. In instances of overcrowding, patients with minor orthopedic injuries face prolonged waiting times. Previous studies have shown that implementing triage protocols for medical imaging conducted by a triage nurse can reduce the Total Length of Stay (TLOS) for this patient group.

This is a single-center, unblinded, randomized, controlled trial that aims to evaluate the impact of a nurse triage protocol on turnaround time (primary outcome), quality of care, and patient satisfaction. The study population consists of adults who present with minor orthopedic injuries below the elbow or knee and have an Emergency Severity Index (ESI) of 4 or 5. Participants are randomly assigned to either the 'nurse triage protocol' group (n=110) or the 'usual care' group (n=110).

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Trauma Injury Accidental Injuries Wounds and Injuries

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Antwerp

Wilrijk, Antwerp, 2610, Belgium

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults (18 years old)
  • ESI 4 or ESI 5 Recent trauma (< 10 days after trauma)
  • Accidental trauma mechanism
  • Trauma below the elbow (forearm, wrist, hand, finger)
  • Trauma below the knee (lower leg, ankle, foot, toe)

Exclusion criteria

  • ESI 1 or ESI 2 or ESI 3
  • Return visit after previous emergency department contact for the same injury (e.g. increased pain, tight cast, ...)
  • Trauma resulting from underlying somatic pathology (e.g. syncope, epileptic attack, vertigo, vasovagal collapse, ...)
  • Atraumatic (pain) complaints (e.g. pain in the calf, toe, foot, wrist, ... without a clear trauma mechanism)
  • Additional, non-orthopedic injuries (e.g. laceration, signs of cerebral commotion, ...)
  • Pregnancy or a suspicion of pregnancy

Treatment and study plan

Nursing triage protocol

Diagnostic Test

Medically approved and supervised standing order that allows trained ER nurses to start medical imaging (RX) for adult patients with minor traumata to the limbs.

Primary outcomes

  1. TLOS

    Time frame: 6-8 weeks

    Total length of stay

Secondary outcomes

  1. Patient satisfaction

    Time frame: 6-8 weeks

    Patient satisfaction measured by a 10-point Likert scale at discharge using a questionnaire

  2. Treatment efficiency

    Time frame: 6-8 weeks

    Measurement if the patient diagnosis and/or treatment was correctly initiated at the Emergency Department. Yes = no additional diagnosis or treatments were necessary; No = within 14 days after discharge a change in treatment or new diagnosis was done. Data will be collected using the hospital's patient records or by calling patients if no information is found in the record.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Universiteit Antwerpen

Other

Collaborators

  • Heilig Hartziekenhuis, Mol

Registry information

Acronym: TRINU-RX

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Mar 13, 2023
Registry last updated
Jul 3, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.