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.