Role of glucose/potassium ratio and shock index in predicting mortality in patients with isolated thoracoabdominal blunt trauma

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study, investigate the prognostic value of shock index (SI), which has been accepted for a long time, and glucose-potassium ratio (GPR), which has limited data in patients with trauma and those with isolated blunt thoracoabdominal trauma. METHODS: This retrospective observational study was conducted at the tertiary reference hospital. Consecutive patients aged 18 years and older treated for blunt thoracoabdominal trauma in the emergency department between August 2020 and February 2022 were included in the study. The ability of GPRs obtained from arterial blood gases and SI levels on admission to predict mortality and indication for surgery was evaluated by calculating areas under receiver operating characteristic curves Area under the curve (AUCs). RESULTS: A total of 102 patients, of which 91 in the survivor group and 11 in the non-survivor group, were analyzed. The AUCs for estimating mortality with GPR and SI were 0.854 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.742–0.967) and 0.809 (95%, 0.666–0.952), respectively. The AUCs of GPR and SI to estimate the indication for surgery were 0.761 (95% CI, 0.657–0.864) and 0.582 (95% CI, 0.416–0.747), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study reported the efficacy of SI and GPR in predicting surgical indication and mortality in patients with isolated blunt thoracoabdominal trauma and the superior predictive role of GPR over SI.