Mega-dose sodium ascorbate: a pilot, single-dose, physiological effect, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Mega-dose sodium ascorbate (NaAscorbate) appears beneficial in experimental sepsis. However, its physiological effects in patients with septic shock are unknown. METHODS: We conducted a pilot, single-dose, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. We enrolled patients with septic shock within 24 h of diagnosis. We randomly assigned them to receive a single mega-dose of NaAscorbate (30 g over 1 h followed by 30 g over 5 h) or placebo (vehicle). The primary outcome was the total 24 h urine output (UO) from the beginning of the study treatment. Secondary outcomes included the time course of the progressive cumulative UO, vasopressor dose, and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. RESULTS: We enrolled 30 patients (15 patients in each arm). The mean (95% confidence interval) total 24-h UO was 2056 (1520-2593) ml with placebo and 2948 (2181-3715) ml with NaAscorbate (mean difference 891.5, 95% confidence interval [- 2.1 to 1785.2], P = 0.051). Moreover, the progressive cumulative UO was greater over time on linear mixed modelling with NaAscorbate (P < 0.001). Vasopressor dose and SOFA score changes over time showed faster reductions with NaAscorbate (P < 0.001 and P = 0.042). The sodium level, however, increased more over time with NaAscorbate (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in other clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: In patients with septic shock, mega-dose NaAscorbate did not significantly increase cumulative 24-h UO. However, it induced a significantly greater increase in UO and a greater reduction in vasopressor dose and SOFA score over time. One episode of hypernatremia and one of hemolysis were observed in the NaAscorbate group. These findings support further cautious investigation of this novel intervention. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12620000651987), Date registered June/5/2020.

Evaluation of neutrophil/leukocyte ratio and organ failure score as predictors of reversibility and survival following an acute-on-chronic liver failure event.

AIM: Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is defined as an acute deterioration of liver disease with high mortality in patients with cirrhosis. The early mortality in ACLF is associated with organ failure and high leukocyte count. The time needed to reverse this condition and the factors affecting mortality after the early 30-day-period were evaluated. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-seven consecutive patients with cirrhosis were included. Patients were prospectively followed up for 180 days. RESULTS: ACLF was diagnosed in 54.8% of the patients. Infection was the most common precipitating event in patients with ACLF. On multivariate analysis, only the neutrophil/leukocyte ratio and Chronic Liver Failure Consortium Organ Failure (CLIF-C OF) score were associated with mortality. Hazard ratios for mortality of patients with ACLF compared with those without at different time end-points post-enrollment revealed that the relative risk of death in the ACLF group was 8.54 during the first 30-day period and declined to 1.94 during the second period of observation. The time varying effect of neutrophil/leukocyte ratio and CLIF-C score was negative (1% and 18% decline in the hazard ratio per month) while that of Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) was positive (3% increase in the hazard ratio per month). CONCLUSION: The condition of ACLF was reversible in patients who survived. During the 30-180-day period following the acute event, the probability of death in ACLF became gradually similar to the non-ACLF group. The impact of inflammatory response and organ failure on survival is powerful during the first 30-day period and weakens thereafter while that of MELD increases.

Analysis of the effects of early screening combined with blood lactate on the severity of patients with sepsis.

This work aimed to investigate the adoption value of blood lactic acid (BLA) combined with the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) in the early screening of sepsis patients and assessing their severity. The data and materials utilized in this work were obtained from the electronic medical record system of 537 anonymized sepsis patients who received emergency rescue in the emergency rescue area of Liuzhou People's Hospital, Guangxi, from July 1, 2020, to December 26, 2020. Based on the 28-day outcomes of sepsis patients, the medical records were rolled into Group S (407 survival cases) and Group D (130 dead cases). Basic information such as the mode of hospital admission, initial management, use of emergency ventilator within 24 h of admission, NEWS score, arterial oxygen pressure/alveolar oxygen pressure ratio (PaO2/PAO2), alveolar-arterial oxygen difference (A-aDO2), serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), oxygenation index (OI), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), D-dimer, use of vasoactive drugs within 24 h of admission, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score, SOFA score, BLA level, NEWS with lactate (NEWS-L) score, SOFA score including lactate level (SOFA-L) score, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) length of stay, total hospital stay, ICU stay/total hospital stay, and septic shock condition were compared between groups. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of various predictive factors on prognosis and to plot the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The results suggested marked differences between Group S and Group D in terms of mean age (t = -5.620; OR = -9.96, 95 % CI: -13.44∼-6.47; P < 0.001). Group S showed drastic differences in terms of mode of hospital admission (χ2 = 9.618, P < 0.01), method of initial management (χ2 = 51.766, P < 0.001), use of emergency ventilator within 24 h of admission (χ2 = 98.564, P < 0.001), incidence of septic shock (χ2 = 77.545, P < 0.001), use of vasoactive drugs within 24 h of admission (χ2 = 102.453, P < 0.001), heart rate (t = -4.063, P < 0.001), respiratory rate (t = -4.758, P < 0.001), oxygenation status (χ2 = 20.547, P < 0.001), NEWS score (t = -6.120, P < 0.001), PaO2/PAO2 ratio (t = 2.625, P < 0.01), A-aDO2 value (Z = -3.581, P < 0.001), OI value (Z = -3.106, P < 0.01), PLT value (Z = -2.305, P < 0.05), SCr value (Z = -3.510, P < 0.001), BUN value (Z = -3.170, P < 0.01), D-dimer (Z = -4.621, P < 0.001), CRP level (Z = -4.057, P < 0.001), PCT value (Z = -2.783, P < 0.01), IL-6 level (Z = -2.904, P < 0.001), length of hospital stay (Z = -4.138, P < 0.001), total hospital stay (Z = -8.488, P < 0.001), CCU/total hospital stay (Z = -9.118, P < 0.001), NEWS score (t = -6.120, P < 0.001), SOFA score (t = -6.961, P < 0.001), SOFA-L score (Z = -4.609, P < 0.001), NEWS-L score (Z = -5.845, P < 0.001), BLA level (Z = -6.557, P < 0.001), and GCS score (Z = 6.909, P < 0.001) when compared to Group D. The use of ventilators, septic shock, PCT, NEWS score, GCS score, SOFA score, SOFA-L score, NEWS-L score, and BLA level were identified as independent risk factors for predicting the prognosis of sepsis patients (P < 0.001). The areas under ROC curve (AUC) of blood lactic acid, PCT, NEWS, NEWS-L, GCS, SOFA, and SOFA-L were 0.695, 0.665, 0.692, 0.698, 0.477, 0.700, and 0.653, respectively. These findings indicate that the combination of BLA with NEWS (NEWS-L) score and SOFA score has certain advantages in assessing the prognosis of sepsis.

Predicting the survival benefit of liver transplantation in HBV-related acute-on-chronic liver failure: an observational cohort study.

Background: Liver transplantation (LT) is an effective therapy for acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) but is limited by organ shortages. We aimed to identify an appropriate score for predicting the survival benefit of LT in HBV-related ACLF patients. Methods: Hospitalized patients with acute deterioration of HBV-related chronic liver disease (n = 4577) from the Chinese Group on the Study of Severe Hepatitis B (COSSH) open cohort were enrolled to evaluate the performance of five commonly used scores for predicting the prognosis and transplant survival benefit. The survival benefit rate was calculated to reflect the extended rate of the expected lifetime with vs. without LT. Findings: In total, 368 HBV-ACLF patients received LT. They showed significantly higher 1-year survival than those on the waitlist in both the entire HBV-ACLF cohort (77.2%/52.3%, p < 0.001) and the propensity score matching cohort (77.2%/27.6%, p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) showed that the COSSH-ACLF II score performed best (AUROC 0.849) at identifying the 1-year risk of death on the waitlist and best (AUROC 0.864) at predicting 1-year outcome post-LT (COSSH-ACLFs/CLIF-C ACLFs/MELDs/MELD-Nas: AUROC 0.835/0.825/0.796/0.781; all p < 0.05). The C-indexes confirmed the high predictive value of COSSH-ACLF IIs. Survival benefit rate analyses showed that patients with COSSH-ACLF IIs 7-10 had a higher 1-year survival benefit rate from LT (39.2%-64.3%) than those with score <7 or >10. These results were prospectively validated. Interpretation: COSSH-ACLF IIs identified the risk of death on the waitlist and accurately predicted post-LT mortality and survival benefit for HBV-ACLF. Patients with COSSH-ACLF IIs 7-10 derived a higher net survival benefit from LT. Funding: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81830073, No. 81771196) and the National Special Support Program for High-Level Personnel Recruitment (Ten-thousand Talents Program).

Transplantation for EASL-CLIF and APASL acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) patients: The TEA cohort to evaluate long-term post-Transplant outcomes.

Background: The forecast accuracy of the European Association for the Study of the Liver-Chronic Liver Failure (EASL-CLIF) and Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) criteria in assessing long-term outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) is still unclear, especially when the staging of the two standards is inconsistent. Methods: A retrospective cohort (NCT05036031) including 565 patients from January 2015 to June 2021 was conducted. The 28 and 90 days, 1- and 3-years overall survival (OS) after LT were compared between different grades. Findings: Total of 162 (28.7%) and 230 (40.7%) patients met the ACLF standards. In the EASL-CLIF criteria, the 3-year OS rates were 83·0%, 80·3%, and 69·8% for ACLF1-3, respectively. In the APASL criteria, the 3-year OS rates were 85·7% for APASL ACLF Research Consortium (AARC)-1, similar to ACLF-1. The 3-year OS rates were 84·5% for AARC-2, which were slightly better than ACLF-2. Regarding AARC-3, the 3-year OS rate was 5·8% higher than ACLF-3. For patients who met neither set of criteria for ACLF, the 3-year OS rates were 89·8%. The multivariate analysis showed that alanine aminotransferase >100 U/L, respiration failure, and cerebral failure were independent risk factors for post-LT death. Interpretation: This study provides the first large-scale long-term follow-up data in Asia. Both criteria showed favorable distinguishing ability for post-LT survival. Patients with ACLF had a higher post-LT mortality risk, and ACLF-3 and AARC-3 correlated with significantly greater mortality. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China and Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality.

A/H1N1/09 Influenza is Associated With High Mortality in Liver Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A/H1N1/09 influenza is associated with a high risk of complications in patients with chronic diseases. In view of patients with cirrhosis being recognized as another high-risk group for influenza morbidity and mortality, we report a cluster of suspected A/H1N1/09 infection in 110 patients admitted to a hepatology intensive care unit. METHODS: The pattern of spread, clinical outcome, and respiratory parameters of A/H1N1/09 of 22 positive cirrhotic patients were compared with those from a control group of 88 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) with influenza-like pneumonia who tested negative for A/H1N1/09. RESULTS: A/H1N1/09 infection was confirmed in 22 (20%) patients. Eighteen of 22 (81.8%) CLD patients with A/H1N1/09 died of pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome despite timely antiviral treatment. In contrast, only 35 (40%)of the control group of cirrhotic patients without A/H1N1/09 died. On univariate analysis, age > 45 years [OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1-5.7, (P = 0.054)], encephalopathy > grade 2 [OR 5.4; 95% CI 2.8-12.3, (P = 0.042)], serum bilirubin >8 mg/dl [OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.8-12.3, (P = 0.052)], serum creatinine >1.8 mg/dl [OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.9-9.2, (P = 0.042)], PaO2/FiO2 ratio <200 [OR 4.5; 95% CI 3.1-18.5, (P = 0.026)] and INR > 2.5 [OR 2.2; 95% CI 1.8-6.7, (P = 0.032)] were risk factors for mortality at presentation. However, on multivariate analysis only PaO2/FiO2 ratio <200 and serum creatinine >1.8 mg/dl remained predictors of mortality. Secondary infections, whether fungal or bacterial, were noted to be independent risk factors for disease severity in patients with cirrhosis. CONCLUSION: Early detection and referral, and early antiviral treatment with a strict control of nosocomial spread is essential in patients with cirrhosis during epidemic influenza.

Predictive value of sequential organ failure assessment on 28-day mortality in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective:To evaluate the predictive value of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) for 28-day mortality in patients with post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS).Methods:Retrospective analysis of 125 patients with PCAS who were treated in Emergency Intensive Care Unit (EICU) of Wenzhou People's Hospital from July 2016 to July 2021. Clinical data were collected, including age, gender, underlying diseases, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ), SOFA score on admission to EICU and 28-day mortality. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression model was constructed to analyze the influencing factors of PCAS patients, which was used to examine the independent correlation between SOFA score and 28-day mortality. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to determine the best predictive value of SOFA score and 28-day mortality in PCAS patients.Results:Among the 125 PCAS patients, there were 91 males and 34 females with an average age of (58.7±15.1) years old, and 97 died and 28 survived within 28 days. The overall SOFA score ranged from 7 to 15 points, with an average of 10.9 (10.0, 12.0) points. The SOFA score of non-survival group was significantly higher than that of the survival group [points: 11.0 (10.0, 12.0) vs. 9.5 (9.0, 10.0), P < 0.05]. This difference between SOFA score mainly caused by the neurological and cardiovascular systems. After excluding neurological factors, the SOFA score of the non-survival group was still significantly higher than that of the survival group [points: 8.0 (6.0, 8.0) vs. 6.5 (6.0, 7.0), P < 0.05]. SOFA score was found to be an independent risk factor for 28-day mortality in PCAS patients by multifactorial Logistic regression analysis [odds ratio ( OR) = 1.97, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.24-3.04]. The correlation between neurological score and mortality was the highest in subgroups ( OR = 3.47, 95% CI was 1.04-11.52). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) predicted by SOFA score was 0.81 (95% CI was 0.73-0.89). When SOFA score cut-off value was 10.5 points (10 or 11 points), the sensitivity and specificity of SOFA score for predicting 28-day mortality in patients with PCAS were 67.0% and 82.1%, respectively. Conclusions:The SOFA score is quite accurate in predicting 28-day mortality in patients with PCAS.

Effect and mechanism of hydrocortisone on organ function in patients with severe burns.

INTRODUCTION: In patients with severe burns, resuscitation with large volumes of fluid is needed, partly because of an increase in capillary leakage. Corticosteroids might be beneficial by diminishing capillary leakage. This study aimed to assess in severely burned nonseptic patients whether hydrocortisone (HC) improved outcome and diminished capillary leakage. METHODS: Retrospective analyses of a prospectively collected database were performed, including 39 patients (age 52 [35-62] years, 72% male). Patients were divided based on HC therapy. First, in patients in whom HC was started late, that is when deteriorating (late; 5-12 days postburn) data before and after start of HC were compared. Second, patients in whom HC was started day 0 or 1 postburn (upfront; within 48 hours) were compared with patients who did not receive HC (control). Outcome was assessed as organ dysfunction by Denver Multiple Organ Failure (MOF) score and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score. As markers for capillary leakage and hydration state, proteinuria, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), and fluid administration were assessed. Follow-up was 20 days postburn. Possible adverse effects including mortality were recorded. Repeated measurement regression analyses were performed using MLwiN. RESULTS: In the late group, Denver MOF and SOFA scores significantly decreased after HC (P<.001). Proteinuria tended to decrease (P=.13), BNP increased on the days HC was used (P<.001), and amounts of fluids diminished (P<.001). In the upfront vs control group, Denver MOF and SOFA scores (P<.001) decreased more quickly. Proteinuria (P=.006) and administered fluids decreased more rapidly (P<.001). Mortality rate, numbers of positive blood cultures, incidence of pneumonia, and graft loss were similar in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Hydrocortisone treatment in severe burned patients without sepsis might improve organ dysfunction possibly because of a reduction in capillary leakage, as reflected by a decrease of proteinuria, an increase of BNP, and diminished fluid resuscitation volumes.

Predictive modelling of survival and length of stay in critically ill patients using sequential organ failure scores.

INTRODUCTION: The length of stay of critically ill patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is an indication of patient ICU resource usage and varies considerably. Planning of postoperative ICU admissions is important as ICUs often have no nonoccupied beds available. PROBLEM STATEMENT: Estimation of the ICU bed availability for the next coming days is entirely based on clinical judgement by intensivists and therefore too inaccurate. For this reason, predictive models have much potential for improving planning for ICU patient admission. OBJECTIVE: Our goal is to develop and optimize models for patient survival and ICU length of stay (LOS) based on monitored ICU patient data. Furthermore, these models are compared on their use of sequential organ failure (SOFA) scores as well as underlying raw data as input features. METHODOLOGY: Different machine learning techniques are trained, using a 14,480 patient dataset, both on SOFA scores as well as their underlying raw data values from the first five days after admission, in order to predict (i) the patient LOS, and (ii) the patient mortality. Furthermore, to help physicians in assessing the prediction credibility, a probabilistic model is tailored to the output of our best-performing model, assigning a belief to each patient status prediction. A two-by-two grid is built, using the classification outputs of the mortality and prolonged stay predictors to improve the patient LOS regression models. RESULTS: For predicting patient mortality and a prolonged stay, the best performing model is a support vector machine (SVM) with GA,D=65.9% (area under the curve (AUC) of 0.77) and GS,L=73.2% (AUC of 0.82). In terms of LOS regression, the best performing model is support vector regression, achieving a mean absolute error of 1.79 days and a median absolute error of 1.22 days for those patients surviving a nonprolonged stay. CONCLUSION: Using a classification grid based on the predicted patient mortality and prolonged stay, allows more accurate modeling of the patient LOS. The detailed models allow to support the decisions made by physicians in an ICU setting.

Effect of early bundle therapy on prognosis of patients with sepsis and septic shock / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective To observe the effect of early bundle therapy on prognosis of patients with sepsis/septic shock and analyze the risk factors for death.Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted to select patients with sepsis/septic shock at the Second Soochow University Hospital betweenJanuary 1,2016,and December 31,2016.Data pertaining to demographic variables,compliance rate of bundle therapy,and incidence of organ failure were collected.Patients were categorized into the nonsurvivor or survivor groups based on 28-day mortality.Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for 28-day mortality.Results Totally 118 sepsis/septic shock patients were included in the analysis;28-day mortality was 32.2％.Compared to the survivor group,patients in the non-survivor group were more likely to have chronic heart dysfunction and cerebrovascular disease,lower lactate clearance,lower 6-h compliance rate of bundle therapy and higher incidence of failure of one or ＞2 organs.Age,leukocyte,blood urea nitrogen,creatinine,brain natriuretic peptide,sequential organ failure score and acute physiological and chronic health scores Ⅱ on admission,and lactate after bundle therapy were higher than that of the survivor group.Logistical regression analysis showed that age ≥ 75 years [odds ratio (OR)1.012],6-h lactate clearance ＜30％ (OR=1.122),chronic heart failure (OR=1.741),failure of ＞2 organs (OR=1.769),and 6-h compliance rate of bundle therapy (OR=1.958) were independent risk factors for 28-day mortality.Conclusions Patients with sepsis/septic shock need early diagnosis and resuscitation to improve the compliance rate of bundle therapy and reduce the mortality.

Effect of donor risk index on early prognosis of liver transplantation for acute-on-chronic liver failure: experience of 159 cases in one single center / 器官移植

Objective To evaluate the effect of donor risk index (DRI) on the early prognosis of liver transplantation for acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Methods Clinical data of 159 ACLF recipients undergoing liver transplantation were retrospectively analyzed. According to the calculation formula of DRI, all recipients were divided into DRI < 1.65 group (n=96) and DRI≥1.65 group (n=63). Based on the Chronic Liver Failure Consortium acute-on-chronic liver failure score (CLIF-C ACLFs), all recipients were divided into CLIF-C ACLFs < 48 group (n=78) and CLIF-C ACLFs≥48 group (n=81). The early prognosis indexes including the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay and the length of postoperative hospital stay of the recipients in each group were observed after liver transplantation. The 90 dsurvival rate of the recipients after liver transplantation was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curve. The risk factors affecting the early prognosis of ACLF recipients after liver transplantation were analyzed by Cox's hazards regression model. Results The length of ICU stay and the length of postoperative hospital stay did not significantly differ between the DRI < 1.65 group and DRI≥1.65 group (both P > 0.05). The length of postoperative hospital stay did not significantly differ between the CLIF-C ACLFs < 48 group and CLIF-C ACLFs≥48 group (P > 0.05). The length of ICU stay in the CLIF-C ACLFs < 48 group was 4 (3-14) d, significantly shorter than 7 (1-33) d in the CLIF-C ACLFs≥48 group (P < 0.05). The CLIF-C ACLFs was a risk factor of the early prognosis of ACLF recipients after liver transplantation (P < 0.05). The postoperative 90 d survival rate did not significantly differ between the DRI < 1.65 group and DRI≥1.65 group (P > 0.05). The postoperative 90 d survival rate in the CLIF-C ACLFs < 48 group was 94%, significantly higher than 79% in the CLIF-C ACLFs≥48 group (P < 0.05). Conclusions The early prognosis of ACLF recipients after liver transplantation is correlated with the severity of the disease rather than the DRI. Liver transplantation should be performed early and promptly.

Effects of early changes in organ dysfunctions on the outcomes of critically ill patients in need of renal replacement therapy

INTRODUCTION: Acute kidney injury usually develops in critically ill patients in the context of multiple organ dysfunctions. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of changes in associated organ dysfunctions over the first three days of renal replacement therapy on the outcomes of patients with acute kidney injury. METHODS: Over a 19-month period, we evaluated 260 patients admitted to the intensive care units of three tertiary-care hospitals who required renal replacement therapy for > 48 h. Organ dysfunctions were evaluated by SOFA score (excluding renal points) on the first (D1) and third (D3) days of renal replacement therapy. Absolute (A-SOFA) and relative (D-SOFA) changes in SOFA scores were also calculated. RESULTS: Hospital mortality rate was 75 percent. Organ dysfunctions worsened (A-SOFA>0) in 53 percent, remained unchanged (A-SOFA=0) in 17 percent and improved (A-SOFA<0) in 30 percent of patients; and mortality was lower in the last group (80 percent vs. 84 percent vs. 61 percent, p=0.003). SOFA on D1 (p<0.001), SOFA on D3 (p<0.001), A-SOFA (p=0.019) and D-SOFA (p=0.016) were higher in non-survivors. However, neither A-SOFA nor D-SOFA discriminated survivors from non-survivors on an individual basis. Adjusting for other covariates (including SOFA on D1), A-SOFA and D-SOFA were associated with increased mortality, and patients in whom SOFA scores worsened or remained unchanged had poorer outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to baseline values, early changes in SOFA score after the start of renal replacement therapy were associated with hospital mortality. However, no prognostic score should be used as the only parameter to predict individual outcomes.

Clinical Features and Risk Factors of Patients Readmitted to ICU / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Premature discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) results in ICU readmission and poor outcome. Understanding the clinical features of the readmitted patients may be helpful for intensivists to improve ICU care. We performed this study to determine the causes, outcomes, and risk factors of patients readmitted to the ICU. METHODS: Data was collected from the patients admitted to medical and surgical ICUs of Severance Hospital between January, 1999 and July, 2001 retrospectively. Readmission cause, source, indication, length of ICU stay, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) III score, and multiple-organ failure (MOF) score of readmitted patients were evaluated. Non-survivors and survivors after ICU readmission were compared. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-seven readmitted and 2,412 non-readmitted patients were examined and the readmission rate was 6.3%. Respiratory disease was the major cause of readmission. Readmitted patients had longer initial ICU lengths of stay than non-readmitted patients (13.6 vs 9.4 days, p<0.05). The ICU mortality rate was not significantly higher in the readmitted patients compared with the non-readmitted patients. The MOF score on readmission (5.4 vs 3.1) and APACHE III score on initial discharge (40.7 vs 30.4) and readmission (76.3 vs 44.4), in non-survivors were higher than survivors of the readmitted patients, respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: ICU readmission was associated with longer ICU stay and respiratory disease was the major cause of readmission. The MOF score at readmission and APACHE III score at discharge and readmission were significant risk factors of the outcome in readmitted patients.

APACHE II Score and Multiple Organ Failure Score as Predictors of Mortality Rate of Critically Ill Patients / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: The APACHE II scoring system has been regarded as a useful tool in the assessment of the severity of injury and prognosis for acutely ill patients. Recently, there have been many reports that multiple organ failure(MOF) score is the better predictor of the mortality of critically ill patients than any other scoring system. The purpose of this study was to compare APACHE II score and MOF score for mortality prediction in critically ill patients. METHODS: 163 critically ill patients were studied. We analyzed the correlation between the mortality rate and the scores that were produced by APACHE II and MOF scoring system within the first 24 hours in the ICU. We analyzed the correlation between each score and the number of days of ICU stay. We also calculated the mortality rate according to the number of organ failure. RESULTS: 1) The APACHE II score and MOF score of the survivors(n=129) were 9 6 and 1 1, respectively and those of nonsurvivors(n=34) were 16 7 and 5 2(mean SD), respectively. 2) The r2 was 0.62 between APACHE II score and mortality rate, and 0.77 between MOF score and mortality rate. 3) The r2 was 0.06 between APACHE II score and ICU stay, 0.01 between MOF score and ICU stay. 4) The mortality rates were 0, 2, 20, 64, 73, 75 and 100 % in 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 organ failures, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The MOF score was more sensitive predictor of the mortality of critically ill patients than the APACHE II score.