title: Efficacy of the Manchester Triage System: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The growing number of patients in emergency departments can lead to overcrowding, often adding to organisational problems. Triage aims to predict the severity of disease, with the aim of organising patient flow. The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy of the Manchester Triage System (MTS) for risk classification of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic review of the literature in Ebscohost, Pubmed and Scielo (2002-2013) was undertaken. Articles were selected independently by two researchers using selection criteria. Twenty-two articles were selected for inclusion in this review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results support the applicability of the MTS, which has proven validity for use in children, adults, patients with coronary syndrome and patients with acute pulmonary embolism. The MTS was found to be inclusive, and to predict emergency department admission and death in the short term.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of studies found that the MTS was useful in triage of patients in emergency departments, but sub-triage and super-triage (i.e. under and over classification of severity, respectively) still occur.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of the Mucuri and Jequitinhonha Valley, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thereza Raquel Machado
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Azeredo
authors.affiliation: Federal University of the Mucuri and Jequitinhonha Valley, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: helisamaraguedes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Helisamara Mota
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Guedes
authors.affiliation: Centro Hospitalar University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ricardo Alexandre
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rebelo de Almeida
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tânia Couto Machado
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chianca
authors.affiliation: Scientific-Pedagogical Unit of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Health Sciences Research Unit - Nursing, Coimbra, Portugal; University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing/WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Brazil.
authors.forename: José Carlos Amado
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Martins
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D018579:Patient Selection; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Emergency medical services; Manchester protocol; Manchester triage; Nursing; Risk assessment; Triage