Comparative Evaluation of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score Alone versus Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score with Procalcitonin in Outcome Prediction among Intensive Care Unit Patients with Sepsis

Background: In critically ill patients with sepsis, it is essential to implement risk stratification and targeted interventions to enhance their prognosis. In the present study, we aimed to ascertain the discriminatory accuracy of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels, and their combination for predicting the short-term mortality of patients with sepsis. Methodology: This prospective observational study was undertaken on 40 patients with sepsis requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission. SOFA score and PCT levels were measured at the time of ICU admission and at 48 h later. Based on these values, the delta SOFA and PCT clearance were calculated. All the patients were provided standard institutional ICU care, and they were followed up to 14 days after ICU admission. Results: We found that 21 were survivors (52.5%) and 19 (47.5%) were nonsurvivors. The area under the curve (AUC) for SOFA scores at ICU admission and at 48 h is 0.704 and 0.771, respectively, suggesting fair accuracy for mortality prediction. The PCT level at ICU admission has fair accuracy (AUC = 0.739), whereas at 48 h, it has shown improved accuracy with an AUC of 0.812. Assessment of patients at these study intervals by combining SOFA scores and PCT levels resulted in AUC of 0.704 and 0.839, respectively. Conclusion: The ability of SOFA score at 48 h after ICU admission to predict the short-term mortality of patients with sepsis is improved by combining it with PCT levels; however, the performance of this combination is not better than PCT levels alone.