RESUMO
PURPOSE: We aimed to assess the prognostic accuracy of SOFA and qSOFA scores in cancer patients with sepsis, and also to determine if the addition of hyperlactatemia to qSOFA increases the accuracy in predicting the 30-day mortality. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We consecutively included adult active cancer patients (age ≥ 18 years) with sepsis defined by SIRS who visited the emergency department (ED) from May 1st to July 30th, 2017. Data were collected retrospectively through reviewing medical records. The SOFA and qSOFA scores were calculated with the initial variables at the time of ED admission. The primary endpoint was 30-day mortality. RESULT: Of 1137 screened, 301 were included. The 30-day mortality was 14.3% (43 patients). Among the total 301, the SOFA score was ≥ 2 in 168 and qSOFA ≥ 2 in 23. For those with SOFA ≥ 2 and < 2, the mortality was 23.2% and 3%, respectively (P < 0.001). For those with qSOFA ≥ 2 and < 2, the mortality was 47.8% and 11.5%, respectively (P < 0.001). The AUROC of 30-day mortality for qSOFA was lower than that for SOFA (0.66 (95% CI, 0.56-0.75) vs. 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.87), P = 0.004)). However, the combination of qSOFA with lactate ≥ 2 threshold considerably enhanced a discrimination capacity for mortality with an AUROC 0.77 (95% CI, 0.69-0.85), which was similar to SOFA (P = 0.11). CONCLUSION: In cancer patients with sepsis, qSOFA was inferior to SOFA in predicting mortality. However, adding lactate to qSOFA resulted in greater prognostic accuracy for short-term mortality, comparable with SOFA.
