Objective: To evaluate the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation III (APACHE III) in the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients and its significance in prognosis.
Methods: The clinical data of 54 SARS patients, including survivors (43 cases) and nonsurvivors (11 cases) were collected and evaluated with APACHE III scoring system. The correlation of scores and prognosis was evaluated.
Results: The scores of the nonsurvivors were higher remarkably than those of the surviving group(P<00.01). The scores of the acute physiology score (APS) and year score (YS) in the death group were higher obviously than those of the surviving group(both P<0.01). Elderly patients with severe disease had a high mortality. The scores of APACHE III had positive correlation with the over all fatality rate. When the scores of APACHE III was higher than 60, the fatality rate increased obviously.
Conclusion: The scores of APACHE III in the SARS are correlated with the patient's condition and prognosis.