In this study, we revealed that the sSI, which was derived by subtracting the SBP from the HR, strongly correlated with the SI among the patients transported via ambulance. Meanwhile, an sSI value of > − 12 was observed to correspond to the known SI cut-off value of > 0.9, which is the most common optimized cut-off point, as has been previously described [16].
This finding confirms the utility of using the sSI for more rapid assessment of the condition of patients admitted for emergency care than the more complicated SI. Assuming that a calculator is not available, judging whether the SI is more than 1.0 is quite easy because the hypothesis is true when the value of HR is greater than that of SBP. However, when the SI cut-off value is 0.9, the judgement becomes difficult. As calculating HR/SBP mentally can cause confusion, we often calculate SBP times 0.9 mentally and then compare it with HR. For example, when an HR of 103 and SBP of 114 are known, we calculate 114 × 0.9 = 102.6 and then compare it with 103. Thus, we can judge SI to be > 0.9 because 103 > 102.6. Obviously, this procedure is complicated and tends to lead to miscalculation. On the other hand, an alternative criterion of sSI > − 12 makes the procedure much simpler. For example, using the same values of HR of 103 and SBP of 114, calculating HR plus 12 is the first step to solve the hypothesis. When the sum (e.g. 103 + 12 = 115) is compared with SBP, we are able to judge that sSI is > − 12 because 115 > 114. Since this addition is quite easy, mental calculation can be performed at a glance.
While attempts have been made to improve the predictive ability of SI for mortality or other outcomes, these endeavours have made the process more complicated. Examples of such previously proposed predictors include an index called ‘age shock index’ derived by multiplying the SI with the patient’s age, or another referred to as the ‘modified shock index’ obtained by dividing the HR by the mean blood pressure [18, 19]. Other complicated predictors were also proposed such as ‘respiratory adjusted shock index’ calculated by multiplying the SI with the respiratory rate/10 and ‘reverse shock index multiplied by Glasgow Coma Scale score’ derived by dividing the Glasgow Coma Scale by the SI [20, 21]. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study aimed at simplifying the calculation using subtraction, as no previous groups have proposed the idea of subtracting the SBP from the HR for purposes of estimating the SI.
Regarding the moderate number of missing values, when comparing analysis using values generated from the imputation method and from using only cases without missing values our results indicated good concordance between the measures examined and indicated that sSI is a useful and precise tool.
This study has several limitations. We were unable to investigate patients of different ethnicities because this study was conducted in a single geographic area. Moreover, there is a dearth of a theoretical framework to support the sSI, given that this study was intended as merely a proposal of a pragmatic alternative to the SI. Additionally, although the SI is used to predict mortality, necessity of blood transfusion, or necessity for intensive care unit admission, our study did not address these outcomes; we tested only the correlation between the SI and sSI here. Furthermore, there is certainly a possibility of multiplicity in the subgroup analyses, although this possibility was estimated to be extremely low. These issues should be addressed in future studies intended to clarify the scientific underpinnings of sSI, to further validate sSI as an accurate substitute calculation for SI, or to justify the clinical utility of sSI.