Which scoring system is effective in predicting mortality in patients with Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever? A

Mehmet Bakir1, Caner Öksüz1, Faruk Karakeçili2

  • 1Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.

Insights

The Severity Grading System (SGS), SOFA, and APACHE II best predict mortality in Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) patients. qSOFA was not significant for early mortality prediction.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a severe tick-borne viral illness with significant mortality.
  • Effective scoring systems are crucial for evaluating CCHF patient prognosis and guiding clinical management.
  • Existing scoring systems require comparative analysis for optimal application in CCHF care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the efficacy of qSOFA, SOFA, APACHE II, and SGS in predicting mortality among CCHF patients.
  • To determine the best scoring system for evaluating the clinical course of CCHF.
  • To assess the predictive performance of scoring systems at different time points during hospitalization.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective study involving 388 CCHF patients diagnosed via PCR and/or IgM positivity across five centers.
  • Calculation and evaluation of qSOFA, SOFA, APACHE II, and SGS scores at admission, 72 hours, and 120 hours.
  • Correlation analysis between scoring systems and mortality prediction in survivors and non-survivors.

Main Results:

  • SGS, SOFA, and APACHE II demonstrated superior performance in predicting mortality at admission.
  • All evaluated scoring systems (qSOFA, SOFA, APACHE II, SGS) were significant predictors of mortality at 72 and 120 hours.
  • A strong positive correlation was observed between qSOFA, SOFA, and SGS scores in survivors; APACHE II showed a weaker correlation.
  • A one-unit increase in SGS score multiplied the odds of death by 12.818.

Conclusions:

  • SGS, SOFA, and APACHE II are the most effective scoring systems for predicting CCHF patient mortality at admission and during the disease course.
  • qSOFA demonstrated limited utility for predicting early mortality in CCHF.
  • These findings support the use of SGS, SOFA, and APACHE II for enhanced CCHF patient monitoring and risk stratification.