Discriminant Score of Woo et al for Short Term Mortality of an Elderly Patient in a Long Term Care Institution

Patient selection: elderly male and female patients in Hong Kong, so probably mostly Chinese

Parameters:

(1) fructosamine in mmol/L (affected by both protein malnutrition and hyperglycemia)

(2) transferrin in g/L (marker of protein calorie malnutrition)

(3) prealbumin in mg/L (marker of protein calorie malnutrition)

(4) glycosylated hemoglobin in percent from 0 to 100

(5) hemoglobin in g/dL (marker of protein calorie malnutrition)

discriminant score =

= (9.2 * (fructosamine)) + (2.38 * (transferrin)) + (0.08 * (prealbumin)) - (1.309 * (glycosylated hemoglobin)) - (0.2 * (hemoglobin)) - 6.029

Interpretation:

• A score of 0 indicates a 50:50 chance of survival.

• A negative score indicates an increased risk of short term mortality.

• A positive score indicates an increased chance of short term survival.

after Table 4, page 1244

Analytical methods:

• Most of the biochemical tests were performed on a Parallel Analyzer from American Monitor Corporation.

• The reference ranges for the different tests were not reported.

• The methods for glycosylated hemoglobin and fructosamine are described in Woo et al. Diabetologia. 1987; 30: 863-868.