Decision Support for Simulated Emergency Triage by Nurses: A Randomized Crossover Study

November 8, 2026 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital

Development, Validation, and Human-AI Collaboration Evaluation of a Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale Decision Support System

This randomized, three-period crossover study will evaluate a Taiwan Triage and Acuity Scale (TTAS) decision support system in a controlled simulation. Thirty nurses with emergency triage training or experience will each assess three different sets of 50 standardized, de-identified emergency cases. The three study conditions are unassisted triage, case-specific TTAS decision support, and a sham assistance interface. The order of conditions will be randomized, with 7 to 14 days between study periods. The main outcomes are agreement between nurses' final TTAS levels and an expert reference standard, active time needed to assess 50 cases, and a prespecified safety-adjusted efficiency score. Additional outcomes include undertriage, overtriage, workload, usability, and responses to misleading advice. The system will not be used for actual patient triage or entered into clinical records.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The study will develop a traceable TTAS rule knowledge base and evaluate a decision support prototype in simulated emergency triage. A language-processing component identifies candidate complaints, vital signs, and modifiers from standardized case narratives. A deterministic rules engine generates a suggested TTAS level, matched rules, prompts for additional information, and a draft note. Nurses retain final decision authority. Three balanced case sets of 50 de-identified cases will be prepared from retrospective emergency data. At least two experienced emergency physicians or triage nursing experts will independently establish the reference TTAS level; disagreements will be adjudicated by a third blinded expert. Participants will be stratified by clinical experience and site and assigned to one of six condition sequences. Each participant completes all three conditions with different case sets and a 7- to 14-day interval between periods. The sham interface resembles the active interface but provides suggestions that are not based on the individual case, allowing assessment of automation bias. Analysis will account for study condition, period, sequence, case set, participant experience, case acuity, and repeated observations within participants and cases. This is a simulation study; no decision support output is used in care of real patients.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
30

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18 years or older.
  • Able to read Chinese and use the study computer platform.
  • Prior emergency triage training or practical emergency triage experience.
  • Willing to provide written informed consent and complete the planned case assessments.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide valid informed consent.
  • Unable to perform basic operations on the study platform or to follow the study schedule.
  • Involved in developing the study system or aware of details distinguishing active from sham assistance in a way that could compromise masking.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
No Intervention: Sequence A[BC]

Period 1: unassisted triage (A); and then Period 2: active TTAS decision support (B); Period 3: sham assistance (C). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.

Period 2: sham assistance (C); Period 3: active TTAS decision support (B). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.
Active Comparator: Sequence B[AC]

Period 1: active TTAS decision support (B); and then Period 2: unassisted triage (A); Period 3: sham assistance (C). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.

Period 2: sham assistance (C); Period 3: unassisted triage (A). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.
Other: Case-specific TTAS decision support

During review of 50 standardized cases, a research-only interface displays candidate presenting complaints, matched TTAS rules, a suggested triage level, prompts for missing information, and a draft triage note. The nurse makes the final decision.
Placebo Comparator: Sequence C[AB]

Period 1: sham assistance (C); and then Period 2: unassisted triage (A); Period 3: active TTAS decision support (B). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.

Period 2: active TTAS decision support (B); Period 3: unassisted triage (A). Each period includes 50 different standardized cases.
Other: Sham triage assistance interface

During review of 50 standardized cases, an interface resembling the active system displays non-case-specific or distribution-matched suggestions. These suggestions are for simulation only and are not used in patient care.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Exact agreement with expert TTAS reference standard
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Percentage of completed case assessments for which the nurse's final five-level TTAS assignment exactly matches the adjudicated expert reference level, evaluated separately under each condition.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.
Active time to complete 50 case assessments
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Total active time in minutes required to complete the 50-case set in each condition, excluding recorded breaks and system interruptions. The analysis of incomplete sets must be specified before enrollment.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.
Safety-Adjusted Efficiency Score
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Prespecified score combining TTAS accuracy and speed. The approved protocol assigns 1.0 for exact agreement, 0.8 or 0.6 for overtriage by one or two levels, 0.4 for undertriage by one level, and 0 for undertriage by two or more levels, with additional penalties for undertriage of Level 1-2 cases. The exact high-acuity penalty, time component, aggregation, score range, and handling of missing cases require final specification before submission.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sensitivity for high-acuity cases (TTAS Levels 1-2)
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Proportion of expert-reference Level 1-2 cases assigned Level 1 or 2 by the nurse under each condition.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.
Undertriage rate
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Percentage of completed case assessments in which the nurse's final TTAS level indicates lower urgency than the expert reference standard; severe undertriage will be reported separately according to the prespecified threshold.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.
Overtriage rate
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Percentage of completed case assessments in which the nurse's final TTAS level indicates higher urgency than the expert reference standard.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.
Acceptance of incorrect suggestions in the sham condition
Time Frame: During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Percentage of sham-assisted cases in which an incorrect displayed recommendation is accepted in the nurse's final TTAS decision; denominator and incorrectness criteria to be prespecified.
During each of three approximately 60-minute study periods, separated by 7-14 days; up to approximately 4 weeks per participant.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 13, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 13, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 202608042RIND

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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