Triage Screening for
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
Standard, contact, and
airborne isolation will be initiated at triage in the following circumstances:
- fever;
AND
- respiratory Illness
(e.g., cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, hypoxia);
AND
- travel within 10 days
of symptoms to Asia;
OR
- fever and respiratory
illness plus close contact with a person with a respiratory illness who recently
traveled to Asia or with a person suspected of having SARS.
In all patients who present
to triage with fever and cough or shortness of breath, ask:
�Have you or someone close
to you traveled to Asia in the past three weeks?�
If the answer is �Yes�:
- The triage nurse will don a surgical mask, place a surgical mask on the
patient, place the patient in an isolation room with inner and outer doors
closed, and post a sign saying �Standard, Contact, and Airborne Isolation.�
- The triage nurse will notify the major treatment attending and the charge
nurse.
Source: Carolinas
Medical Center, Charlotte, NC.