Changes of triage by GPs during the course of prehospital emergency situations in a Norwegian rural community

Table 1 Priority grade changes by aggregated diagnostic groups

			Priority grade changes						P-values
Diagnostic group	Total		Unchanged		Upgraded		Downgraded		Upgraded	Downgraded
	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N
Cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases*	100	86	56	49	10	9	32	28	0.864	0.020
Syncope, seizures, trauma, intoxication	100	76	39	30	3	2	57	44	0.004	0.001
Respiratory distress	100	30	50	15	13	4	37	11	0.753	0.494
Acute abdomen#	100	19	42	8	37	7	21	4	<0.001	0.036
Others	100	27	33	9	15	4	52	14	0.511	0.293
Total	100	238	47	111	11	26	42	101

Pearson’s chi-square tests performed for upgrading and downgrading of each diagnostic group compared with all patients not belonging to that group. Fisher’s exact test if number in cell was < 5. Not relevant cases were excluded from statistical analyses (N = 2).
*Exclusive syncope and seizures.
#Inclusive gastrointestinal haemorrhage.