Can the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score, combined with plasma lactate concentration, predict the mortality for patients with infections in the emergency department?

Aim: Few studies have looked at the predictive role of plasma lactate measure combined with the score of quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) on hospital mortality. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the score of qSOFA combined with plasma lactate is independently associated with in-hospital mortality among patients with infections in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Scores of qSOFA and plasma lactate measurements of 60 patients in ED were collected prospectively from May 2017 to March 2018. We used the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and sensitivity analysis to compare the applicability of qSOFA score alone and qSOFA score combined with lactate level for patient mortality. Results: Thirteen patients (21.6%) died in the hospitalization period. According to the qSOFA alone, qSOFA score combined with lactate measurement was more successful (AUC = 0.798 vs. 0.885 p<0.001, respectively). When qSOFA was used alone, sensitivity and specificity were 92% and 54%, otherwise those of the combined with lactate measurement were 100% and 43%, respectively (p<0.001). Conclusion: Combining the qSOFA with lactate has higher sensitivity for patient mortality than that seen with qSOFA alone