NEONATAL SEVERITY OF ILLNESS SCORING SYSTEMS - A COMPARISON

Several different scoring systems have been developed to predict neona tal morbidity and mortality, In this investigation we compared the uti lity of four severity of illness scoring systems (SISS) as predictors of days on ventilator (DOV), length of hospital stay (LOS), and mortal ity in very-low-birth weight (VLBW) premature infants who required mec hanical ventilation, The SISS assessed were the Score for Neonatal Acu te Physiology (SNAP); the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-Perinata l Extension (SNAP+PE); Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB), and the Sinkin Score at 12 hours (SS12) Results revealed significant correlati ons among the SS12, SNAP, SNAP+PE, CRIB, birth weight (BW), DOV, and L OS. However, none of the systems we assessed offered striking advantag e over BMT in a VLBW ventilated group.