A Severity of Illness Index for Evaluation Pre-Hospital Care of Submariners with Abdominal Pain

Abstract

It is difficult to compare the severity of different illnesses. Medical outcome measurements -- morbidity and mortality -- are not useful indicators. Another indicator is needed. A Severity of Illness Scale has been developed and validated on patients hospitalized with abdominal pain. A maximum likelihood factor analysis was carried out on the following variables: the number of bed days occupied by the patient, the number of diagnoses, procedures, preoperative, postoperative, and convalescent days, and the hospital admissions. This produced a two factor solution which reflected (i) the intensity of the treatment and (ii) the severity of the illness. There was a significant effect of the specific diagnosis on the treatment instituted, which demonstrated the validity of the Severity of Illness Scale. Other uses of the scale are discussed. Keywords: Quality of care; Abdominal pain; Submarine personnel; Technology assessment; Outcomes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 15, 1988
Accession Number
ADA199233

Entities

People

  • Bernard Ryack
  • David Southerland
  • George Moeller
  • Kendall Bryant
  • Morton Solomon

Organizations

  • Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biliary Tract
  • Biliary Tract Diseases
  • Biomedical Research
  • Databases
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Factor Analysis
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Information Science
  • Intestinal Diseases
  • Measurement
  • Medical Personnel
  • Navy
  • Pain
  • Pre-Hospital Care
  • Surgery

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.
  • Trauma or Military Medicine