Comparison of accuracy in three versions of simplified sequential organ
failure assessment scores to predict prognosis of septic patients
Abstract
Background: Evidence shows that simplified SOFA scoring system has
better clinical practice. Objective: This study aimed to compare the
scores acquired with the simplified sequential organ failure assessment
(sSOFA), simplified organ dysfunction criteria optimized for electronic
health records (eSOFA), and simplified and accurate sequential organ
failure assessment (sa-SOFA) for their accuracies in predicting the
prognosis of septic patients. Methods: This retrospective observational
study was conducted at three major academic hospitals. Clinical data
from 574 patients diagnosed with sepsis following the Third
International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock
(Sepsis-3)were retrospectively retrieved and analyzed. Scores from the
quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) and sequential organ
failure assessment (SOFA) were used as reference scores. The area under
the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to compare
the accuracies of eSOFA, sSOFA, and sa-SOFA scores in predicting
in-hospital mortality. Results: AUROC analysis demonstrated the
predictability of the five scoring systems for sepsis surveillance,
listed in descending order as: sa-SOFA,0.790 (95% confidence interval
[CI]: 0.754-0.822); SOFA, 0.774 (95% CI: 0.738-0.808); eSOFA,0.729
(95% CI: 0.691-0.765); sSOFA,0.681 (95% CI: 0.641- 0.719); and
qSOFA,0.618(95% CI: 0.577-0.658). Moreover, sa-SOFA and SOFA scores (Z=
1.950, p = 0.051) did not significantly differ from each other in
discriminatory power, but the sa-SOFA score had a higher power than
either the sSOFA or eSOFA scores (p values <0.001).
Conclusion: sa-SOFA showed the highest accuracy in predicting
in-hospital fatality of septic patients when compared with sSOFA and
eSOFA.