A long term evaluation study of the impact of a Nurse-led Early Triage service for chest pain patients, aimed at improving the management of those with non ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes.
This observational study was designed in 2 parts NET-1 and NET-2, to evaluate a service development after initial implementation and 5 years later. Data was gathered from medical notes and end points compared between all groups. Comparison of NET-1 triage and NET-2 triage with NET-1 non-triage (baseline control) demonstrated statistically significant improvements (p <0.05) in the number of chest pain patients having their 12-lead ECG performed within 10 mins of admission and the number of high risk NSTE-ACS patients receiving Clopidogrel and managed in CCU. Comparison of current triage with current non-triage, revealed a significant difference in median time to receive anti-platelet drug treatment. The study demonstrated the positive impact of nurse-led early triage and that initial benefits have been sustained.
...and get involved in our activities!