Prognostic Accuracy of VqSOFA for Predicting 28-day Mortality in Patients with Suspected Sepsis in the Emergency Department

Background: Sepsis screening in the emergency department (ED) is challenging. The quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score had poor accuracy for predicting mortality in both the intensive care unit and ED. High lactate levels were associated with an increased mortality. However, a previous study using lactate levels in combination with the qSOFA score did not observe a meaningful improvement in predictive accuracy. This study assessed the prognostic accuracy of venous lactate levels plus the qSOFA (VqSOFA) score for predicting 28-day mortality. Methods: Patients who visited the Ramathibodi ED with suspected sepsis were enrolled. The VqSOFA, qSOFA, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores were calculated using the initial vital signs and laboratory values. Prognostic accuracy was measured using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve of the VqSOFA score and Sepsis-3 criteria for predicting 28-day mortality. Results: In total, 1,139 patients were enrolled, 118 of whom died within 28 days of admission. The AUROCs of the VqSOFA, qSOFA, and SOFA scores were 0.851 (95% CI 0.813-0.889), 0.813 (95% CI 0.772-0.854), and 0.728 (95% CI 0.671-0.784), respectively. Using VqSOFA score >= 3 as the cutoff, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive likelihood ratio were 74.6%, 82.5%, and 4.25%, respectively. VqSOFA >= 3 was linked to a low probability of 28-day survival and higher odds of vasopressor and ventilator use within 24 h. Conclusions: VqSOFA was more predictive of 28-day mortality and vasopressor and mechanical ventilator use than the qSOFA and SOFA scores.