Evaluation of acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II in predicting ICU mortality among critically ill

Background: Clinical assessment of the severity of illness among critically ill patients is an essential component to predict the mortality and morbidity in intensive care units. Scoring systems estimate the prognosis and help in clinical decision making thus enhance the quality of care in Intensive care units.Methods: A descriptive study including 122 patients admitted to medical intensive care unit was performed from January 2017-March 2017 in Southern Kerala. APACHE II score for the first 24 hours of admission to the intensive care unit was calculated. SPSS 20 was applied for statistical analysis, and clinical parameters were investigated with descriptive statistics.Results: The actual ICU mortality rate (9%) was less than the predicted mortality rate (43.6%) obtained using the APACHE II. Majority of patients 98(80%) had APACHE score >15. There was a statistically significant correlation observed between age and predicted mortality score of critically ill (r=.434 p=0.01).Conclusions: APACHE II scoring system has been successful in predicting the mortality of critically ill. Healthcare professionals should therefore incorporate the disease severity measuring tools in their clinical practice to prioritize and optimize the care rendered in critical care units.