Charlson's weighted index of comorbidities is useful in assessing the risk of death in septic patients

Abstract

PurposeWe investigated the efficiency of the Charlson's weighted index of comorbidities (WIC) in predicting the risk of death in septic patients. Materials and MethodsA single-center, 3-year analysis of all septic patients was conducted; WIC and organ failure assessed using the Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score were calculated retrospectively. ResultsOf 250 septic patients, 60 patients (34%) had WIC above 2. Fifty-five patients (22%) died during the hospitalization. Increasing WIC was associated with increased mortality. Mean WIC differed significantly between survivors and nonsurvivors (P < .0001), and the univariate logistic regression revealed that risk of death depends significantly of WIC with odds ratio of 1.59 (95% confidence interval, 1.31-1.93; P < .001). The accuracy of prediction for the risk of death was 79.2%. Receiver operating characteristics curve indicated a WIC of 2 as a cutoff value, the association between WIC greater than 2, and the risk of death being described by an odds ratio of 1.87 (95% confidence interval, 1.017-3.457; P = .042); the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve in predicting mortality was 0.81 for the SOFA score and 0.68 for WIC; WIC correlated positively with SOFA (r = 0.27; P < .0001). ConclusionIn septic patients, WIC is predictive for hospital mortality, and the risk of death significantly depends on WIC.