Goerlich et al developed a simple tool to screen patients in the Emergency Department for sepsis. This can help to identify a patient who may benefit from more aggressive management. The authors are from the University of Texas at Houston.
Parameters:
(1) body temperature in °F
(2) respiratory rate in breaths per minute
(3) heart rate in beats per minute
(4) tissue oxygen saturation (StO2), measured with the Spot Check StO2 device
Parameter
Finding
Points
body temperature
<= 97.5°F
1
97.6 to 99.3°F
0
>= 99.4°F
1
respiratory rate
<= 20 breaths/minute
0
> 20 breaths/minute
1
heart rate
<= 64 beats/minute
1
64 to 94 beats/minute
0
>= 95 beats/minute
1
StO2
< 75 percent
1
75 to 89 percent
0
>= 90 percent
1
total score =
= SUM(points for all 4 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: 0
• maximum score: 4
• A score >= 2 was considered a positive screen for sepsis.
Performance:
• At a prevalence of 8.4% the score was 86% sensitive and 78% specific. The negative predictive value was 98% but the positive predictive value 27%.
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