Estimation of the mortality rate using the APACHE II standard disease severity scoring system in intensive care unit patients

Identification of priorities in intensive care units is a matter of high complexity due to dysfunction in patient's vital organs such as blood, lung and kidney which often undergo rapid changes in the mentioned wards. Nurses should therefore be able to make decisions with respect to priorities to resolve this problem. In this regard, the present study was undertaken to investigate the efficacy of APACHE II instrument. In the present study in 2010, 70 patients of intensive care units with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were evaluated, for whom the APACHE II scores were calculated. The research was conducted in a cross-sectional approach, in which patient's death or survival was recorded. SPSS15 statistical software was applied for statistical analysis, and clinical parameters were investigated using descriptive-statistical tests. The study findings showed significant difference between survivors and non-survivors with respectively 3.5 (±13.6) and 17 (±2.5) as the mean (±SD) APACHE II scores. Fifteen percent mortality rate was observed in patients with scores under 15, while it was 36% in those with scores ranging from 16 to 19, and almost 100% in participants obtaining 20 to 30 scores. The APACHE II scoring system has been successful in predicting the mortality rate in intensive care unit patients and it has been found to be higher than the standard level in all patients.