Table 2.

DOH clinical triage tool

Criteria label	Adults will be considered for admission at the nearest general hospital if they present with any of the following
A	Severe respiratory distress
Severe breathlessness, e.g. unable to complete sentences in one breath
Use of accessory muscles, supra-clavicular recession, tracheal tug, or feeling of suffocation
B	Increased ventilatory frequency measured over at least 30 s
More than 30 bpm
C	Oxygen saturation ≤92% on pulse oximetry, breathing air, or on oxygen
Absence of cyanosis is a poor discriminator for severe illness
D	Respiratory exhaustion
New abnormal breathing pattern, e.g. alternating fast and slow rate or long pauses between breaths
E	Evidence of severe clinical dehydration or clinical shock
Systolic arterial pressure <90 mm Hg, diastolic arterial pressure <60 mm Hg, or both
Sternal capillary refill time >2 s, reduced skin turgor
F	Altered conscious level
New confusion, striking agitation, or seizures
G	Causing other clinical concern to the clinical team or specialist doctor, e.g. a rapidly progressive or an unusually prolonged illness