The systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sequential organ failure assessment scores are effective triage markers following paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose.

BACKGROUND: The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores are widely used as prognostic markers in critical care settings and could improve triage of high-risk paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose patients. AIM: To evaluate the prognostic accuracy of the SIRS and SOFA scores following single time point paracetamol overdose. METHODS: Analysis of 100 single time point paracetamol overdoses admitted to a tertiary liver centre, with subsequent prospective validation of identified thresholds. Individual laboratory samples were correlated with the corresponding clinical parameters in relation to time post-overdose, and the daily SOFA and SIRS scores calculated. RESULTS: A total of 74 (74%) patients developed the SIRS, which occurred significantly earlier in patients who died (n=21) compared with spontaneous survivors (n=53, P=0.05). The SIRS occurred in 70 (70%) patients by 96h post-overdose, with a 30% mortality rate; compared with 0% mortality in the 30 non-SIRS patients (P=0.001). Median SOFA scores were significantly higher in nonsurvivors at 48 (P=0.009), 72 (P<0.001), and 96h (P<0.001). A SOFA score >7 during the first 96h post-overdose predicted death/transplantation with a sensitivity of 95.0 (95% CI 78.5-99.1) and specificity of 70.5 (95% CI 66.3-71.6). A validation cohort of 38 single time point paracetamol overdoses confirmed the extremely high negative predictive value of both the SIRS and SOFA thresholds. CONCLUSIONS: The absence of either a SOFA score >7 or a SIRS response during the first 96 h following paracetamol overdose could improve triage and reduce transfers of lower risk patients to tertiary liver centres.