Elevated Shock Index Predicts Hospital Admission and Mortality

A shock index higher than 1.3 was associated with excess risk for admission and inpatient mortality.

Shock index (heart rate divided by systolic blood pressure) is easy to calculate and has been shown to correlate with outcomes in multiple conditions, including acute myocardial infarction and post-trauma critical bleeding (Medicine 2017; 96:e8014 and Emerg Med Australas 2014; 26:223).

To determine whether shock index is associated with hospital admission or inpatient mortality among undifferentiated adult emergency department (ED) patients, researchers retrospectively queried a national ED database to assess 568 million ED visits by undifferentiated adult patients.

Of these visits, 15.7% resulted in admission, and 2.6% resulted in death. A shock index higher than 1.3 was moderately predictive of hospitalization (likelihood ratio, 6.64) and m…

Reviewing Author

Benton R. Hunter, MD

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair, Evidence Based Healthcare Interest Group)

Benton R. Hunter, MD

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Chair, Evidence Based Healthcare Interest Group)

Elevated Shock Index Predicts Hospital Admission and Mortality

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Reviewing Author