Triage Discordance in an Academic Pediatric Emergency Department and Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Language for Care

Background Minoritized patients are disproportionately represented in low-acuity emergency department (ED) visits in the United States in part caused by lack of timely access to primary and urgent care. However, there is also the possibility that implicit bias during triage could contribute to disproportionate representation of minority groups in low-acuity ED visits. Triage discordance, defined as when ED resources used are different from initial triage score predictions, can be used as a proxy for triage accuracy. Recent data suggest that discordant triage may be common, although little is known about the interaction with race, ethnicity, and language for care. Objectives This study aims to determine the prevalence of discordant triage among moderate- and low-acuity pediatric ED encounters and the interaction with patient race, ethnicity, and language for care. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of pediatric ED encounters from 2019 with Emergency Severity Index (ESI) scores of 3, 4, or 5 at an academic referral hospital. The primary outcome was triage discordance, encompassing overtriage (ESI 3 and 4) and undertriage (ESI 4 and 5). Logistic and multinomial regressions were used to assess discordant triage by race, ethnicity, and language group. Results Triage discordance occurred in 47% (n = 18,040) of encounters. Black and Hispanic patients had higher likelihood of undertriage for ESI 5 (adjusted odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval CI 1.01–1.46 and 1.27, 95% CI 1.07–1.52, respectively), and Black patients were more likely to be overtriaged in ESI 3 (1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1.27). Those with a language other than English for care had higher proportions of overtriage for ESI 3 (1.08, 95% CI 1.04–1.12) and undertriage for ESI 5 (1.23, 95% CI 1.11–1.37). Conclusions We found high rates of triage discordance in our pediatric ED, with significant associations with race, ethnicity, and language for care. Future research should evaluate the source of triage discordance and develop quality improvement efforts to improve equitable care.