Prediction of prognosis and outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism in the emergency department using early warning scores and qSOFA score

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prediction ability of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS), National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2), and quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) score for the prognosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) in the emergency department. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 245 patients with PE. The NEWS, NEWS2, and qSOFA scores were compared according to the hospitalization clinic (ward vs. intensive care unit), hospitalization length (<10 vs. >10 days), severity of embolism (massive vs. submassive), and outcome (discharged vs. died). RESULTS: The areas under the curve of the NEWS, NEWS2, and qSOFA score for 1-week mortality were 0.854 (sensitivity, 78%; specificity, 73%; cutoff, 7.5; confidence interval, 0.807–0.902), 0.870 (sensitivity, 83%; specificity, 73%; cutoff, 5.5; confidence interval, 0.825–0.915), and 0.789 (sensitivity, 83%; specificity, 51%; cutoff, 0.5; confidence interval, 0.720–0.858), respectively. CONCLUSION: The NEWS2 more accurately predicts 1-week mortality than do the NEWS and qSOFA score in patients with PE.