PARENT SEVERITY ASSESMENT IN A HOSPITAL'S CLINICAL UNITS

Abstract

Background: Collected data on the clinical severity of patients treated in a hospital provides better standards for higher nursing care quality. Objective: To assess the severity of patients admitted to a hospital in relation to discharge/referral or death rates. Methods: A concurrent cohort of 577 patients from a large hospital in the Jequitinhonha Valley, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. On admission the patient was first assessed and administered the TISS-28 between 24 and 48 h to determine severity by quantifying nursing care interventions. The analysis was carried out applying Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: A significant difference was found in the following variables: age, length of stay in the hospital and TISS-28 score in relation to the discharge/referral and death rates. The TISS-28 showed an accuracy rate of 77.9% in measuring clinical severity of patients in both the intensive care unit (ICU) and the emergency room (ER). In medical and surgical clinics this was 65.0%. Conclusion: The TISS-28 proved to be a better instrument for measuring the severity of patients in the ICU and ER compared with those hospitalized in clinics.