Comparison between quick sofa and sirs criteria in triage and as a severity and mortality predictor in patients with sepsis

Background: Sepsis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and it is very important to establish a simple clinical evaluation method that can identify patients with signs of organic dysfunction who may be progressing to sepsis. The study objective was to compare the qSOFA and SIRS criteria as triage tools and severity and mortality predictors in patients with sepsis at the emergency sector of a University Hospital in the Midwest of the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Methods: A descriptive, longitudinal and prospective field research was undertaken between February and August 2017. Results: Ninety sepsis triage protocols were found. Eight patients were excluded, and 69 of the remaining 82 received the diagnosis and treatment for sepsis. During the triage, 46.4% of the patients obtained positive criteria for both scores, 47.8% were only identified through the SIRS, while 5.8% only presented a positive score on the qSOFA. In-hospital mortality corresponded to 31.9%. A relationship was found between the mean number of positive qSOFA, but not SIRS criteria, and mortality. Conclusion: The SIRS criteria showed better performance to detect sepsis in patient triage, while the number of positive qSOFA criteria demonstrated a directly proportional relation with severity and the mortality rate.