Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score, Lactate, and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio Help in Diagnosis and Mortality Prediction during Golden Hour of Sepsis in Emergency Department.

Introduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with a very narrow golden period in which confirmatory diagnosis may change the outcome dramatically. No confirmatory biomarker is available till date for early diagnosis of sepsis. This study aimed to evaluate the combined and independent role of quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score, lactate, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in diagnosis and mortality prediction in early sepsis.

Methods: This was a hospital-based, single-center, prospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary care institute, Karnataka, India. Three hundred adult sepsis patients were recruited during 10-month period, and demographic data, qSOFA score, lactate, NLR, and culture samples were collected in ED within 1 h of admission. Outcome groups (survivor and nonsurvivor) were statistically analyzed with relative frequencies (%), median, mean ± standard deviation with 95% confidence interval (CI), univariate, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis, and Receiver -operating characteristic curve (ROC) curve to test the predictive ability of initial levels of three biomarkers.

Results: Sepsis was more prevalent among middle-aged male patients. Male gender (odds ratio [OR], 6.9; 95% CI: 1.61-30.1), qSOFA (OR, 154; 95% CI: 15-1565), and lactate (OR, 1.36; 95% CI: 22-833) show 97% (area under the curve) predictive accuracy of the model for sepsis on bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. A significant rise in NLR was a poor outcome indicator on univariate analysis (P = 0.773).

Conclusion: All three biomarkers are good outcome predictors whereas qSOFA and lactate have diagnostic significance in early sepsis. These markers can be used for patient triaging, minimizing culture report dependence for treatment and ultimately the outcome.