Análise do Protocolo de Triagem em Situações de Múltiplas Vítimas

Abstract

Proper victim triage is essential for the efficiency of emergency and urgent care services. The START protocol classifies patients into four priority levels: red for severe injuries requiring immediate care, such as major hemorrhages, amputations, and shock; yellow for moderate injuries that allow for delayed care; green for minor injuries with the ability to walk; and black or gray for deceased victims or those with irreversible injuries. This is an integrative literature review with a descriptive and explanatory nature. To conduct the study, the following guiding question was defined: "What are the triage protocol’s evidences in mass casualty situations for the effectiveness of emergency care?" The literature search was conducted through a review of scientific publications using databases available in the Virtual Health Library (VHL). A total of 280 studies were retrieved, and after applying the selective filtering criteria, 13 studies remained. The START protocol generally presents a high level of accuracy in triage, achieving approximately 90% correctness. This demonstrates its ease of application and effectiveness. However, to ensure quality care and minimize errors, it is crucial that healthcare professionals receive adequate training, including exposure to various mass casualty incident scenarios. Thus, it is concluded that, based on the presented evidence, the START protocol, although widely used and easy to apply, has limitations that impact its accuracy in victim triage during mass casualty incidents. The analyzed studies show that, despite its high accuracy rate, there are challenges related to under-triage and over-triage, reinforcing the need for continuous improvements to the protocol.