The awarded work, titled Manchester Triage: the impact of different versions and editions on priority assignment, analyzes the importance of keeping the Manchester Triage System (MTS) updated, a key tool in emergency services for classifying patient severity and establishing care priority.
The study compared the first Spanish edition of the system with the third version (3.8) using five clinical cases. The results showed significant differences in four of the cases, particularly in situations such as the potential identification of sepsis in the elderly, acute neurological symptoms, risk of aggression to others, and palpitations with an abnormal pulse.
According to Sonia Capuz, in several scenarios, applying the latest version modified the care priority from yellow to orange, or from orange to red in cases of immediate risk of harming others. In another case, compatible with aortic pain, the discriminator used was changed, although the orange priority was maintained.
These findings highlight that system updates can affect the interpretation of reasons for consultation and the speed of patient care. Therefore, the study emphasizes the need for healthcare centers to know which version of the MTS they have implemented and to ensure the updating of protocols, IT tools, and professional training for more consistent and safer classification.
