The Quality Assessment of Performance in Intensive Care Units According to APACHE II Score

Abstract

Introduction: Improving the health level of patients is one of the most important purposes in intensive care units. In order to promote these units we need to measure their quality. To do so, some standards are needed in this area. The aim of this article was to study the mortality rate of the patients admitted to intensive care units with different APACHE scores. Methods: This descriptive and retrospective study was conducted in Tehran, Iran. The sampling was census and all the patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit in a hospital in Tehran in 2013 were studied in this study. The overall admitted patients were 350 that only 318 patients had completed the records and were involved in the study. Data was analyzed by using SPSS15. Results: Mortality and viability in these two groups were 122 and 196, respectively. Seven out of 68 with scores <15 and 9 out of 49 patients with scores between 19-16 died. Thirty three out of 103 patients who had scores between 30-20 died too and only 70 patients survived. In comparison with the standard scoring system, the mortality rate in our study was <19 which was lower than standard, but with scores >20, the mortality rate was 25% which was higher than standard values. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, we can conclude that the quality of care in intensive care units is desirable. It can be said that according to the APACHE system the quality of healthcare is desirable in the Intensive Care Units. As a conclusion, in order to promote quality, more serious care is needed in patients with greater scores. Cite this article as: Abdi M, Tofighi S, Niakan-Kalhori S, Ebadi A, Zaboli R, Basirat MH, et al. The quality assessment of performance in intensive care units according to APACHE II score. Int J Travel Med Glob Health. 2015;3(3):125-9.