Comparison of the Effects of Sacco and START Triage Methods in the Death Risk Assessment of Mass Trauma Patients after Earthquake

Abstract

Introduction:

Compared with traditional START Triage Method, the Sacco Triage Method is a new way to access death risk in disaster scenes. However, due to the difficulties in disaster medical research, there is still no evidence to prove which one is more effective.

Aim:

To assess and compare the value of START Triage Method and Sacco Triage Method in the death risk assessment of transport and the one-month death risk assessment of the earthquake mass trauma patients.

Methods:

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 1,612 patients who were transferred to the West China Hospital by assigning to different triage levels by Sacco Triage Method and START Triage Method respectively. Both of the triage methods were evaluated based on death cases on either during transport or in the emergency department, using the area under the receiver-operator curve.

Results:

For death during the transport and in the emergency department, the receiver-operator curve of two groups reflected as 0.721 and 0.649. For death in a consequence, the receiver-operator curve of the two groups was revealed as 0.667 and 0.519.

Discussion:

As an accurate triage method, the Sacco Triage Method may be used in a mass casualty incident. It is a more effective way than the START Triage Method for the evaluation of death risk assessment of the mass trauma patients.