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Objectives: Vitals are the most important parameters for assessing a patient’s status and the National Early Warning Score helps to assess vitals to predict how urgent a patient’s condition is. The perfusion index is the ratio of the pulsatile blood flow to the non-pulsatile/static blood flow in a patient’s peripheral tissue. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the National Early Warning Score and perfusion index in the courses and evaluate whether NEWS and PI are useful in predicting outcomes of older patients in an Emergency Department. Method: In this prospective cross-sectional study, we evaluated non-traumatized older patients admitted to an Emergency Department. National Early Warning Score, perfusion index, and patients’ Emergency Department outcomes were recorded. Results: A total of 967 patients (55% female, mean age=74.8) were enrolled. The initial National Early Warning Score of the patients had a significant, negative correlation with perfusion index (p < 0.001). Patients admitted to the hospital had higher National Early Warning Score and lower perfusion index values than those discharged (both p < 0.001). Patients admitted to an ICU had significantly higher National Early Warning Score and lower perfusion index values than those admitted to the medical floor (both p < 0.001). Conclusion: The National Early Warning Score and the perfusion index are useful instruments to distinguish critically ill older patients in an Emergency Department. |
