INTRODUCTION: Lack of outcomes-based research results in uncertainty about the effectiveness of any of the current triage systems in determining priority of care during actual chemical disasters. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the level of injury severity extrapolated from 5 triage systems correlated with actual injury severity outcomes of victims exposed to a chlorine disaster.
METHODS: Using secondary data analysis, data for 631 victims were merged, de-identified, and analyzed. Using logic models from the triage systems, the actual injury severity was compared with the extrapolated injury severity classifications.
RESULTS: Analysis showed weak to modest correlations between the extrapolated injury severity triage outcome classifications and the actual injury severity outcomes (Spearman correlation range 0.38 to 0.71, P <.0001). There was slight to fair agreement between the extrapolated injury severity triage outcome classifications and the actual injury severity outcomes (weighted κ = - 0.23 to 0.42).
DISCUSSION: The extrapolated injury severity triage outcome categories from the 5 triage systems did not agree with the actual injury severity categories. Oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry provides early indications and is very predictive of outcome severity in incidents involving irritant chemical exposures such as chlorine, and should be a part of a mass casualty protocol for any irritant chemical incident. Additional research is needed to identify the most sensitive clinical measures for triaging victims of toxic inhalation disasters.