Validation of the Gothenburg obstetric triage system.

Cohort studyPregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.)· Jul 2026

Validation of the Gothenburg obstetric triage system.

Linnéa Lindroos, Erica Ginström Ernstad, Staffan Nilsson, Verena Sengpiel

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Emergency Department FlowCohort study

Gothenburg triage system had low sensitivity for detecting urgent obstetric cases

Validation of the Gothenburg obstetric triage system.

Linnéa Lindroos … Verena Sengpiel

Pregnancy (Hoboken, N.J.) · Jul 2026

Background

Obstetric emergency triage is a relatively new form of emergency triage and not yet fully implemented within obstetric emergency care.

Purpose

This study aims to validate the Gothenburg obstetric triage system, a five-level obstetric emergency system based on symptom presentations and vital sign parameters.

Methods

Consecutive medical charts from the obstetric emergency department at Sahlgrenska University Hospital between January 1-17 and June 1-17, 2021 were reviewed.

n = 1280 patient

Results

the system missed over a third of truly urgent cases

0.62

Sensitivity

0.98

Specificity

More results

Of 1280 patient visits, the appropriate triage level had been assigned in 96% of the patient visits; 2.3% (29/1280) were undertriaged.

Subjective symptom descriptions such as pain and dyspnea were prone to under- and overtriage.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

We suggest a two-phase validation process with standardized acuity outcome measures and deepened chart reviews to assess validity of obstetric triage systems in a given obstetric context.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

We found that gothenburg obstetric triage system is a valid triage system in the studied context but also identified areas of further improvement.