Hypotension Score for Predicting Outcome in Critically Ill Patients

Patient population:

(1) 101 adults admitted to the ICU of an academic medical center (UCSF)

(2) hypotension lasting > 60 minutes which was unexplained

Parameters:

(1) number of days from time of admission to onset of hypotension

(2) APACHE II score at the onset of hypotension

(3) reason for hospital admission

hypotension score =

= (number of days from hospital admission to onset of hypotension) + (1.5 * (APACHE II score)) + (20 * (admission value))

where:

• admission value = 0 if admitted for surgery or for treatment of malignancy, else 1

Interpretation:

• The values can range widely depending on the number of days and the APACHE II scores (range of values 0 to 71).

• minimum score: theoretically 0

• maximum score: dependent on number of days. It could be 156 for a 30 day interval, which would be a relatively long admission by today's standards.