SEVERITY OF DISEASE SCORE AS A PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY AFTER CAVAL FILTER INSERTION

PURPOSE: To estimate 30-day mortality after vena caval filter insertio n and assess the usefulness of a severity of disease score in predicti ng postprocedure 30-day survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of 40 consecutive patients undergoing inferior vena caval filter insertion o ver a 2 1/2-year period were retrospectively reviewed, A severity of i llness score for each patient was calculated based on the weighting sy stem described for the APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Eva luation) II system. In addition, 30-day postprocedure survival was det ermined. RESULTS: Seven patients died within 30 days of the procedure (18%), The use of a severity of disease score of greater than 15 as a predictor of postprocedure 30-day mortality had a sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 97%, positive predictive value of 75%, a negative predi ctive value of 91.4%, and accuracy of 90%. CONCLUSIONS: The 30-day mor tality after caval filter insertion is significant, A severity of dise ase score is a useful predictor of patients likely to survive followin g caval filter insertion, On this basis it may be possible to establis h criteria for more beneficial use of vena caval filters.