Performance assessment of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II in a referral respiratory intensive care unit in Iran.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Nowadays, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II) scoring systems have drawn much attention for the evaluation and prediction of disease process in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). To use these scoring tools, their predicting power must be initially validated for the target patients. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of these two scoring systems in an ICU for respiratory diseases in Iran. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All records of patients admitted during a 1-year period were retrospectively reviewed, and the APACHE II and SAPS II scores were calculated accordingly. Information gathering was performed using a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 415 records were used. The mean age of patients was 49.28 ± 0.94 years. Using receiver operating-characteristic curve, cutoff points for 80% sensitivity and specificity of mortality prediction for APACHE and SAPS scores were 13.5 and 27.5, respectively. Calibration and discrimination studies indicated an acceptable status for both scales, but APACHE II scoring system seemed to show rewarding outcomes. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that APACHE II scoring system can be considered as a reliable method for predicting mortality in our referral respiratory ICU.