The aim of this study was to assess the ability of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scoring system, and Trauma and Injury Severity Score (TRISS) method to predict group mortality for intensive care unit (ICU) trauma patients.

The medical records of 706 consecutive major trauma patients admitted to the ICU of Samsung Changwon Hospital from May 2006 to April 2010 were retrospectively examined. The SOFA and the APACHE II scores were calculated based on data from the first 24 hours of ICU admission, and the TRISS was calculated using initial laboratory data from the emergency department and operative data. The probability of death was calculated for each patient based on the SOFA score, APACHE II score, and TRISS equations. The ability to predict group mortality for the SOFA score, APACHE II score, and TRISS method was assessed by using 2-by-2 decision matrices and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and calibration analysis.

In 2-by-2 decision matrices with a decision criterion of 0.5, the sensitivities, specificities, and accuracies were 74.1%, 97.1%, and 92.4%, respectively, for the SOFA score; 58.5%, 99.6%, and 91.1%, respectively, for the APACHE II scoring system; and 52.4%, 94.8%, and 86.0%, respectively, for the TRISS method. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the areas under the curve for the SOFA score, APACHE II scoring system, and TRISS method were 0.953, 0.950, and 0.922, respectively.

The results from the present study showed that the SOFA score was not different from APACHE II scoring system and TRISS in predicting the outcomes for ICU trauma patients. However, the method for calculating SOFA scores is easier and simpler than APACHE II and TRISS.