Volume 7, Issue 2 (2022)
Manage Strat Health Syst 2022, 7(2): 125-139 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Hosseini Sarkhosh S M, Taghvaei M, Allameh S F. Prioritization of COVID-19 Patients for Admission in the Intensive Care Unit in the Context of Hospital Bed Shortages: An Integrated Multi-criteria Decision Making Approach. Manage Strat Health Syst 2022; 7 (2) :125-139
URL: http://mshsj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-528-en.html
URL: http://mshsj.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-528-en.html
1- Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Garmsar, Garmsar, Iran , sm.hosseini@fmgarmsar.ac.ir
2- Internal Medicine Specialist, Department of Internal Medicine, Shohadaye Pakdasht Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3- Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2- Internal Medicine Specialist, Department of Internal Medicine, Shohadaye Pakdasht Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3- Associate Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract: (1398 Views)
Background: When an epidemic occurs, resources, including hospital beds, are severely limited and not all patients can be treated; so, hospital bed rationing is inevitable. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide a method for evaluating and prioritizing patients with COVID-19 for admission to the intensive care unit.
Methods: This was a descriptive-survey study in terms of data collection method conducted in the summer of 2021. Following the formation of an expert panel with 4 specialists, a three-stage approach to evaluating and prioritizing COVID-19 patients was adopted by combining multi-criteria decision analysis methods. In the first stage, effective criteria and sub-criteria for patients’ prioritization were identified by a panel of experts and related studies, and the hierarchy of criteria was drawn. In the second stage, the Fuzzy best-worst method was used to determine the weight of criteria and sub-criteria. Finally, in the third stage, a combined compromise solution method was performed to prioritize 10 patients in need of COVID-19 and the most critical patient was selected.
Results: According to the experts, among the 15 criteria studied, respiratory rate, PaO2/FiO2, impaired consciousness, mean arterial pressure and age were identified as 5 of the most important criteria in prioritizing COVID-19 patients for intensive care unit admission. In addition, 10 COVID-19 patients referred to Shohadaye Pakdasht Hospital were evaluated and prioritized with the proposed approach.
Conclusion: The proposed method can be used as a useful tool in the evaluation of COVID-19 patients for admission to the intensive care unit and to support the vital decisions of physicians.
Methods: This was a descriptive-survey study in terms of data collection method conducted in the summer of 2021. Following the formation of an expert panel with 4 specialists, a three-stage approach to evaluating and prioritizing COVID-19 patients was adopted by combining multi-criteria decision analysis methods. In the first stage, effective criteria and sub-criteria for patients’ prioritization were identified by a panel of experts and related studies, and the hierarchy of criteria was drawn. In the second stage, the Fuzzy best-worst method was used to determine the weight of criteria and sub-criteria. Finally, in the third stage, a combined compromise solution method was performed to prioritize 10 patients in need of COVID-19 and the most critical patient was selected.
Results: According to the experts, among the 15 criteria studied, respiratory rate, PaO2/FiO2, impaired consciousness, mean arterial pressure and age were identified as 5 of the most important criteria in prioritizing COVID-19 patients for intensive care unit admission. In addition, 10 COVID-19 patients referred to Shohadaye Pakdasht Hospital were evaluated and prioritized with the proposed approach.
Conclusion: The proposed method can be used as a useful tool in the evaluation of COVID-19 patients for admission to the intensive care unit and to support the vital decisions of physicians.
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
