Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of telephone triage of callers with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in Dutch out-of-hours primary care: A retrospective observational study

Abstract

Background: Anecdotal reports suggest that missed diagnosis in general practice during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a drop in life-threatening events (LTEs) detected in hospitals.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accuracy of urgency allocation by telephone triage of patients with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort in out-of-hours primary care (OHS-PC). Accuracy is defined as the correct allocation of high urgency to patients with LTEs and low urgency to those without.

Methods: Retrospective observational study with data from callers contacting OHS-PC for shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort, between 1 March and 1 June 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 1 March to 1 June 2020 (first wave COVID-19 pandemic). Sensitivity and specificity of telephone urgency allocation were compared during both periods with LTEs, including acute coronary syndrome, and pulmonary embolism, as the reference.

Results: 3,064 adults (1,840 COVID-19 pandemic and 1,224 pre-pandemic, p < 0.001) were included in the study. The sensitivity of urgency allocation was similar during and before the COVID-19 pandemic (0.68, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.75 vs. 0.68, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.75, p = 0.944). Specificity was slightly higher during the COVID-19 pandemic (0.52, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.55 vs. 0.45, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.48, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Despite a surge in calls from adults with shortness of breath and/or chest discomfort during the COVID-19 pandemic, the accuracy of telephone triage for LTEs in OHS-PC remained similar to the pre-pandemic era. Improvement of telephone triage seems necessary in both periods.

Keywords: COVID-19; family practice; general practice; primary health care; triage.