Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society,
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 2004
Journal of the American Geriatric Society 2004; 52:S211-212
Mini-Suffering State Examination (MSSE) scale: Key Criterion of survival for dementia during last 6 months of life
B. Z. Aminoff, MD, PhD, S. Noy, MD, PhD, A. Adunsky, MD
Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center,
Tel Hashomer, Israel
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the correlation between the (MSSE) scale score and the survival of ESD patients during the last 6 months of life.
Predictive factors of survival at this point in life of dementia patients are very important for enrolling the patients in a hospice.
The MSSE scale is the first objective tool for the estimation of the suffering level in ESD (Aminoff, 1999). It covers 10 items and has significant reliability and validity. A high MSSE scale score reflects the severity of the medical condition in ESD and indicates a high level of suffering.
We evaluated data of 134 ESD patients who died within 6 months of admission to the geriatric department. On the day of admission the MSSE scale score was recorded.
The mean survival of ESD patients with a low MSSE scale score (29 patients, MSSE=2. 24± 0.99) was 57.76± 9.73 days, and in those with a median MSSE scale score (53 patients, MSSE=4.92± 0.83) 44.70± 5.99 days. In the group of patients with a high MSSE scale score (52 patients, MSSE=8.06± 1.00) mean survival was much shorter (27.54± 4.16 days).
The differences between the survival times of the three groups of the MSSE scale score were significant. Evaluation was performed by the Kaplan-Meier analysis (Log Rank P = 0.0018; Breslow P = 0.0027). The results of the Cox proportional Hazard model of survival showed a high correlation between high MSSE scale score and high risk for mortality and short survival of end-stage dementia patients during last 6 months of life (P = 0.013).
A high MSSE scale score could be the key criterion for prediction of survival of ESD patients during the last 6 months of life