Assessment of Emergency Surgical Triage Accuracy and Outcomes at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

Triage accuracy in surgical emergency settings is a determinant of resource allocation, waiting time management, and patient survival, yet the quality of emergency surgical triage in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital has not been formally evaluated. This study assesses the accuracy of surgical emergency triage and its association with clinical outcomes at LASUTH, Lagos State. A prospective observational design is applied over a three-month period, enrolling all surgical emergency presentations (n approximately 400). Triage nurses apply the Manchester Triage System, and an independent senior clinician reassesses each patient within 30 minutes to determine concordance. Data include triage category assigned, reassessment category, time to first physician assessment, operative urgency classification, in-hospital complications, and 48-hour mortality. SPSS is used for analysis, with sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value calculated for triage accuracy. Available emergency surgery literature from South West Nigeria indicates overtriage rates of up to 35 percent in emergency departments without structured triage training, associated with delayed care for genuinely high-urgency patients. The Manchester Triage System and ATLS patient assessment principles provide the triage and clinical urgency reference framework. Findings will support the hospital's emergency surgical unit in implementing structured triage training and periodic triage audit. Keywords: surgical triage, Manchester Triage System, emergency surgery, Lagos, South West Nigeria.