Predictive validity of the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score for the mortality in patients with sepsis in Vietnamese intensive care units

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275739
• Publication Date: 2022-10-14T18:03:23Z
• Authors: Son Ngoc Do; Chinh Quoc Luong; My Ha Nguyen; Dung Thi Pham; Nga Thi Nguyen; Dai Quang Huynh; Quoc Trong Ai Hoang; Co Xuan Dao; Thang Dinh Vu; Ha Nhat Bui; Hung Tan Nguyen; Hai Bui Hoang; Thuy Thi Phuong Le; Lien Thi Bao Nguyen; Phuoc Thien Duong; Tuan Dang Nguyen; Vuong Hung Le; Giang Thi Tra Pham; Tam Van Bui; Giang Thi Huong Bui; Jason Phua; Andrew Li; Thao Thi Ngoc Pham; Chi Van Nguyen; Anh Dat Nguyen
• Keywords: Adult; Adolescent; Organ Dysfunction Scores; Epidemiology; Science; Cutoff; Logistic regression; Receiver operating characteristic; Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine; Quantum mechanics; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Asian People; Management of Ventilator-associated Pneumonia in ICU Patients; Sepsis; Health Sciences; Humans; Predictive value of tests; Intensive care medicine; Hospital Mortality; SOFA score; Internal medicine; Retrospective Studies; Area under the curve; Optimization of Perioperative Fluid Therapy; Physics; Q; R; Prognosis; 3. Good health; Intensive Care Units; Cross-Sectional Studies; ROC Curve; Vietnam; Intensive care; ICU; Epidemiology and Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock; Medicine; Emergency medicine; Surgery; Research Article

Background The simple scoring systems for predicting the outcome of sepsis in intensive care units (ICUs) are few, especially for limited-resource settings. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the quick Sequential (Sepsis-Related) Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score in predicting the mortality of ICU patients with sepsis in Vietnam.

Methods We did a multicenter cross-sectional study of patients with sepsis (≥18 years old) presenting to 15 adult ICUs throughout Vietnam on the specified days (i.e., 9th January, 3rd April, 3rd July, and 9th October) representing the different seasons of 2019. The primary and secondary outcomes were the hospital and ICU all-cause mortalities, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was calculated to determine the discriminatory ability of the qSOFA score for deaths in the hospital and ICU. The cut-off value of the qSOFA scores was determined by the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Upon ICU admission, factors associated with the hospital and ICU mortalities were assessed in univariable and multivariable logistic models.

Results Of 252 patients, 40.1% died in the hospital, and 33.3% died in the ICU. The qSOFA score had a poor discriminatory ability for both the hospital (AUROC: 0.610 [95% CI: 0.538 to 0.681]; cut-off value: ≥2.5; sensitivity: 34.7%; specificity: 84.1%; PAUROC = 0.003) and ICU (AUROC: 0.619 [95% CI: 0.544 to 0.694]; cutoff value: ≥2.5; sensitivity: 36.9%; specificity: 83.3%; PAUROC = 0.002) mortalities. However, multivariable logistic regression analyses show that the qSOFA score of 3 was independently associated with the increased risk of deaths in both the hospital (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 3.358; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.756 to 6.422) and the ICU (AOR: 3.060; 95% CI: 1.651 to 5.671).

Conclusion In our study, despite having a poor discriminatory value, the qSOFA score seems worthwhile in predicting mortality in ICU patients with sepsis in limited-resource settings.

Clinical trial registration Clinical trials registry–India: CTRI/2019/01/016898