The SAPS II performance in an intensive care unit

Introduction: The Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) is a model developed in France By Le Gall et al. in 1983, modified for SAPS II in 1993. It consists of 12 physiological variables, age, type of admission and presence of chronic disease. This study aims to analyze the prediction of mortality of SAPS II in patients admitted to the ICU of São José Hospital, Criciúma, SC. Methods: Prospective cohort study conducted from July 2007 to February 2008. We included patients of both sexes, older than 18
years and duration of ICU stay longer than 24 hours. Results: 144 (59%) patients were male and 97 (41%) were female. The average age was 55 ± 17 years, 85 (35%) patients had their admission due to postoperative elective surgery, 33 (14%) due to postoperative emergency surgery and 123 (51%) due to clinical complications. The average score on the SAPS II was 28,7 ± 14,3. Conclusion: ICU scoring systems has become an important tool
to measure the performance of the ICU and may be used for resource allocation, selection of patients, quality assurance. The model studied was not suitable for use in this sample of patients. The SAPS II score had a regular discrimination and underestimated the mortality rate. In addition, the study was conducted in a single ICU, which shows only a certain profile of patients.