Application and significance of vital sign zero and the 3I system
The combined use of “vital sign zero” and the “3I system” can ensure the safety of medical staff, provide early identification of infected patients, and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. When medical resources are limited, the medical staff should work to maximize the health and safety of the entire population, not only patients with known infecrtions (Macias, & Hardy, 2019). Therefore, when encountering a new patient, health care workers should initially assess the likelihood of disease transmission (“vital sign zero”) in an effort to protect health care workers and safety of the public. The use of “vital sign zero” at the time of triage allows early identification of high-risk groups and allows health care workers to use appropriate personal protective equipment. This is an important intervention that helps to manage existing emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, and major infectious diseases that may arise in the future (Koenig, Alassaf, & Burns, 2015) .
It is evident from the outbreak of COVID-19 that a rapid and effective response is the key for controlling outbreaks of infectious diseases (Wang et al., 2020). The WHO provides comprehensive definitions and treatment criteria for various infectious diseases, but these are not applicable to the first-line medical staff who perform rapid risk assessment. The “3I system” considers the epidemiological characteristics of an infectious disease and its main symptoms, and provides simple instructions for management of new infectious diseases by first-line medical staff and on-site epidemic prevention personnel. It is a simple and readily applicable method that can be used to rapidly detect and isolate infected patients and to block the spread of infectious diseases.