Table 2 Triage criteria
| Â | Sore Throat | Cough | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
ED or Urgent Care | Difficulty breathing | Â | Frothy pink sputum | Continuous chest pain |
Inability to open mouth completely | Â | Aspiration of a foreign body | Severe wheezing not relieved with inhaler | |
| Â | Inability to swallow saliva | Â | Hives | Blue lips |
| Â | Wheeze with inhaling | Â | Chest pain with exertion | Feeling of suffocation |
| Â | Â | Â | Decreased level of consciousness | Inability to speak more than 2 words |
| Â | Â | Â | Severe shortness of breath | Inhalation of smoke or noxious fumes |
Clinician visit | Sore throat for > 1 week without improvement |  | Previous visit for the same episode | Inability to breathe while lying down |
| Â | Symptoms of dehydration | Â | Coughing up blood | Sudden weight gain |
| Â | Productive cough | Â | Grossly bloody sputum | New leg or ankle swelling |
|  | Temperature > 102 °F |  | Cough for > 2 weeks without improvement | Coughing or choking after eating |
| Â | Â | Â | Symptoms of dehydration | Symptoms requiring a visit and special population |
RN visit | Sore throat for greater than 24Â h | Difficulty swallowing due to pain | Productive cough without similar nasal discharge | Chest pain with coughing or deep breath |
|  | Fever < 102 °F | Swollen lymph nodes | Blood streaked sputum | Severe cough |
| Â | Patient requests visit | Spots on back throat | Shortness of breath | Patient requests visit |
| Â | Close contact with strep pharyngitis | Â | Inability to sleep due to coughing | Â |
Home care | No symptoms requiring a visit | No symptoms requiring a visit | ||
* Special populations (Clinician visit if visit is required) | Patient < 18 y/o Patient > 70 y/o Currently pregnant or may be pregnant Immunocompromised End Stage Renal Disease on dialysis Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 4 Completed antibiotics within the past 2 weeks Previous strep testing during same illness | Patient < 18 y/o Patient > 70 y/o History of blood clots History of Asthma History of chronic lung disease History of congestive heart failure | Currently immunosuppressed Being treated for cancer Completed antibiotics within the past 2 weeks Chest trauma in the past 2 weeks | |