Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Hospital bed capacity is one of problems in intensive care unit during at the time of crisis, emergencies and disasters. At this regard, it seems reverse triage can resolve this issue by using predictive score systems. This study was purposed to develop a reverse triage system in intensive care unit using APACHE II scoring system for crisis, emergencies and disasters situations.
Methods: This study was performed by a prospective longitudinal design that lasted from March 2016 to February 2017. Research population were 420 internal patients that were admitted in intensive care units of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Data were collected and documented for each patient by demographic questionnaire and APACHE II scoring system daily until discharging time from intensive care units. The patient’s status after discharge from the intensive care unit was used as a criterion for statistical tests.
Results: APACHE II mean score in first day of admission was 18.9±16.20. Risk ratio of patients’ discharging from intensive care unit was 1.034. The patients were placed in four levels of inverse triage according to mortality rate and risk ratio. The scores of four levels were including: 0-10 (first level and green color), 11-16 (second level and yellow color), 27-71 (third level and black color) and 17-26 (fourth level and red color).
Conclusion: The Apache II system can be used as a tool for reverse triage in intensive care units during at the time of crisis, emergencies and disasters. When using this system for reverse triage, patients at the first to third levels can be discharged from intensive care unit. However, patients on the fourth level should not be discharged from intensive care units under any circumstances.

Background: Opioid poisoning is the most common type of poisoning in intensive care units (ICUs). This group usually includes patients who have been drug abusers for a long time and now require hospitalization either because of acute overdose or due to side effects of routine opioid use. This study aimed to compare the severity and prognosis of patients using common mortality predictors Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS II), Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II, APACHE IV) on different days of hospitalization.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on all patients with opioid poisoning admitted to the ICU, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, from the beginning of April 2016 to March 2017 (Persian Calendar). For all poisoned patients enrolled in the study, the four mortality predicting tools were filled daily in the first three days of hospitalization and then every other day until discharge from the ICU or patient's death.