Association of APACHE-II Scores With 30-Day Mortality After Tracheostomy: A Retrospective Study

Objective The objective of this study was to assess whether the Acute Physiology, Age, Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) score is a reliable predictor of 30-day mortality in the setting of adult patients with ventilator-dependent respiratory failure (VDRF) who undergo tracheostomy. Methods This is a retrospective, single-institution study. Potential subjects were identified using the current procedural terminology codes for the tracheostomy procedure and International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes for VDRF. APACHE-II scores were retrospectively calculated. Tracheostomies were performed in our population over an 18-month period (November 2018 through April 2020). Our study population did not include patients with novel coronavirus. The primary outcome was mortality at 30 days after tracheostomy. Results A total of 238 patients with VDRF who had a tracheostomy were included in this study. Twenty-eight (11.8%) patients died within 30 days of tracheostomy. The mean (standard deviation) APACHE-II score was 22.5 (10.2) for patients who died within 30 days of tracheostomy and 19.8 (7.4) for patients living within 30 days of tracheostomy (p = 0.30). Patients with APACHE-II scores greater than or equal to 30 showed higher odds of death within 30 days of tracheostomy (odds ratio, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.14-7.89, p = 0.03). Conclusion An APACHE-II score of 30 and above is associated with mortality within 30 days of tracheostomy in patients with VDRF. APACHE-II scores may be a promising tool for assessing risk of mortality in patients with VDRF after tracheostomy. Level of Evidence 3 Laryngoscope, 2022

Automated summary

The objective of this study was to assess the reliability of the Acute Physiology, Age, Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE-II) score in predicting 30-day mortality in adult patients with ventilator-dependent respiratory failure (VDRF) who undergo tracheostomy. A retrospective study was conducted with 238 VDRF patients who underwent tracheostomy. It was found that patients with an APACHE-II score ≥ 30 had a higher risk of mortality within 30 days of tracheostomy.