What is "triage"

1727, "action of assorting according to quality," from French triage "a picking out, sorting" (14c.), from Old French trier "to pick, cull" (see try (v.)). There seems to be some influence from or convergence with Latin tria "three" (as in triage for "coffee beans of the third or lowest quality"). In World War I, adopted for the sorting of wounded soldiers into groups according to the severity of their injuries, from French use.\n\nFirst of all, the wounded man, or "blessé, is carried into the first of the so-called "Salles de Triage" or sorting wards. Here his name and regimental number, and if he is in condition to give it, the address of his family are taken; .... Then a hasty look-over from the surgeon sends him into one of the two other "Salles de Triage" -- that of the "Petits Blessés" if he is only slightly wounded and that of the "Grands Blessés" if he is more severely so.

[Woods Hutchinson, M.D., "The Doctor in War," Boston, 1918]

n. 1 Assessment or sorting according to quality. 2 (context medicine English) The process of sorting patients so as to determine the order in which they will be treated (for example, by assigning precedence according to the urgency of illness or injury). 3 (context computing by extension English) The process of prioritize bugs to be fixed. vb. To assess or sort according to quality or some other aspect.

n. sorting and allocating aid on the basis of need for or likely benefit from medical treatment or food

Triage ( or //) is the process of determining the priority of patients' treatments based on the severity of their condition. This rations patient treatment efficiently when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately. The term comes from the French verb trier, meaning to separate, sift or select. Triage may result in determining the order and priority of emergency treatment, the order and priority of emergency transport, or the transport destination for the patient.

Triage may also be used for patients arriving at the emergency department, or telephoning medical advice systems, among others. This article deals with the concept of triage as it occurs in medical emergencies, including the prehospital setting, disasters, and emergency room treatment.

The term triage may have originated during the Napoleonic Wars from the work of Dominique Jean Larrey. The term was used further during World War I by French doctors treating the battlefield wounded at the aid stations behind the front. Those responsible for the removal of the wounded from a battlefield or their care afterwards would divide the victims into three categories:

• Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;
• Those who are unlikely to live, regardless of what care they receive;
• Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

For many emergency medical services (EMS) systems, a similar model may sometimes still be applied. In the earliest stages of an incident, such as when one or two paramedics exist to twenty or more patients, practicality demands that the above, more "primitive" model will be used. However once a full response has occurred and many hands are available, paramedics will usually use the model included in their service policy and standing orders.

As medical technology has advanced, so have modern approaches to triage, which are increasingly based on scientific models. The categorizations of the victims are frequently the result of triage scores based on specific physiological assessment findings. Some models, such as the START model may be algorithm-based. As triage concepts become more sophisticated, triage guidance is also evolving into both software and hardware decision support products for use by caregivers in both hospitals and the field.

Triage is a 1998 novel by Scott Anderson. Triage focuses on the psychological effects of war on the photo journalist protagonist, Mark.

Triage is a 2009 drama film starring Colin Farrell, Paz Vega and Christopher Lee, written and directed by Bosnian director Danis Tanović. The film’s plot is a dark tale of a photojournalist (Farrell) who comes home after a dangerous assignment in Kurdistan during the 1988 Anfal genocide against the Kurdish people. The film focuses on the psychological effects of war on a photo journalist. It is based on the novel Triage by American veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson.

Triage may refer to:

• Triage, a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition so as to treat as many as possible when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately
  • Business Triage
  • Bug triage in software engineering
  • a stage in the prioritization of requirements for software and systems
  • Field triage
• Triage (novel), a 1998 novel
• Triage (film), a 2009 film adaptation of the above novel
• Triage, an album by David Baerwald, 1992
• Christopher Muse, a.k.a. Triage, a character from the X-Men comics franchise

Triage is the second solo album by David Baerwald, formerly of the two-man group David & David with David Ricketts. "Triage" was released in October 1992 on the A&M Records label, and was produced by Baerwald along with Bill Bottrell and Dan Schwartz. To date it is Baerwald’s last full-length solo album. He would subsequently make significant contributions to Tuesday Night Music Club, the debut album by Sheryl Crow, and would later record with The New Folk Underground and also compose soundtrack material for feature films, including Hurlyburly and Around the Bend.