Original Research

Diagnostic Accuracy of Lactate, SOFA and qSOFA Scores as Predictors of Mortality in Sepsis and Septic Shock

Ahmed Ayaz1
Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Ainan Arshad2
Department of Internal Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Syedah Amrah Hashmi2
Department of Internal Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Maria Khan2
Department of Internal Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Bushra Jamil3
Department of Infectious Diseases, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

✉ Correspondence: Ainan Arshad Email: ainan_arshad@hotmail.com

DOI https://doi.org/10.70302/jpsim.v2i2.2128
Volume: 2, Issue 2 Pages: 115–118 Published: 17 Jun 2021
Received: 24 Feb 2021 Accepted: 22 Apr 2021 Published Online: 17 Jun 2021

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to assess the accuracy of serum lactate levels, SOFA and qSOFA scores as prognostic indicators of mortality in sepsis patients, and to compare their accuracy in our population and setting.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study assessed all adult patients hospitalized at the Aga Khan University Hospital from October 2019 and December 2019 with the diagnosis of sepsis. Data of the included patients was collected from medical records and extracted variables included demographics, patient and hospitalization characteristics, laboratory investigations and outcome.

Results

Three hundred and sixty-six patients were admitted during the study period with the diagnosis of sepsis. There were 208 (57%) males and 158 (43%) females; mean age was 59 ± 18 years. Overall mortality in sepsis was 25% and mean length of stay was 7.5 ± 6.2 days. The AUROC of serum lactate for predicting mortality was 0.79 with 81% sensitivity and 64% specificity. Furthermore, the AUROC of SOFA for predicting mortality was 0.54 with 60% sensitivity and 43% specificity in comparison to the AUROC of qSOFAscore which was 0.49 with 54% sensitivity and 48% specificity.

Conclusion

In our sepsis patients, serum lactate levels were more reliably associated with mortality; qSOFA and SOFA scores had low sensitivity and specificity as mortality predictors. Further large-scale studies are needed in our population to determine the utility and reliability of these tools.

Keywords
sepsis lactate SOFA qSOFA sensitivity and specificity.

How to Cite This Article

Ayaz A, Arshad A, Hashmi SA, Khan M, Jamil B. Diagnostic Accuracy of Lactate, SOFA and qSOFA Scores as Predictors of Mortality in Sepsis and Septic Shock. J Pak Soc Intern Med. 2021;2(2):115–118. doi:10.70302/jpsim.v2i2.2128

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Conflict of Interest

All authors declare no competing interests.

Disclosed in accordance with ICMJE and COPE guidelines.

Funding

No specific funding was received for this research.

Funder information follows the Crossref Funder Registry standard.

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CC BY CC BY 4.0 This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. May be shared and adapted with attribution. © 2021 Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine.
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