A Comparative Study of the Prognostic Accuracy of NEWS2 Versus qSOFA in Predicting In-Hospital Mortality Among Emergency Department Patients with Sepsis or Suspected Sepsis

Background: Early identification of high-risk sepsis patients is essential for timely management. This study compared NEWS2 and qSOFA for predicting in-hospital mortality among emergency department patients with sepsis or suspected sepsis. Methods: This prospective observational study included 120 adult patients with sepsis or suspected sepsis. NEWS2 and qSOFA were calculated at ED presentation, and patients were followed until discharge or death. Their prognostic performance was assessed using diagnostic accuracy measures and ROC analysis. Results: Of 120 patients, 26 (21.7%) died. Non-survivors had significantly higher NEWS2 (9.1 ± 2.7 vs 5.0 ± 2.4; p<0.001) and qSOFA [2 (IQR 2–3) vs 1 (IQR 0–1); p<0.001]. NEWS2 ≥7 showed 84.6% sensitivity and 76.6% specificity, whereas qSOFA ≥2 showed 65.4% sensitivity and 84.0% specificity. NEWS2 demonstrated better discrimination for mortality (AUROC 0.86, 95% CI: 0.79–0.93) than qSOFA (AUROC 0.75, 95% CI: 0.66–0.84). Conclusion: NEWS2 demonstrated higher sensitivity and better overall discrimination for in-hospital mortality than qSOFA, suggesting its usefulness for early risk stratification of patients with suspected sepsis in the ED. Keywords: Sepsis, NEWS2, qSOFA, mortality, emergency department.