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Background: APACHE IV scoring system is one of the most useful scoring systems for evaluating the quality of health care services in ICU. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of health care services in ICU wards of Valiasr and Amiralmomenin Hospitals of Arak. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 patients admitted to ICU wards in Valiasr and Amiralmomenin Hospitals of Arak. First, the predicted mortality and length of stay (LOS) in ICU were calculated by APACHE IV scoring system. Then the real mortality and the real length of stay in ICU were recorded. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 11.5 and t-test. Results: Real mortality in men and women were 57.2% and 61.9%, respectively. The real length of stay in men and women were 11.58 and 11.62 days, respectively. Predicted mortality calculated by APACHE IV in men was 23.72% while it was 24.1% in women. Predicted LOS by APACHE IV in men was 15.02 days while it was 16.64 days in women. There was a significant difference between real mortality and predicted mortality (P = 0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the quality of health care services in ICU wards of Valiasr and Amiralmomenin Hospitals of Arak are far from international standards.

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Background: The main purpose of this study was to measure the level of lipids in ICU patients and its clinical outcome, specially the mortality rate and the relationship between level of lipids and APACHE IV score.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 ICU patients. Cholesterol level was measured on the first and second days after admission of patients. This was followed by examination of clinical outcome (e.g. mortality rate) and duration of their real and predicted stay through APACHI IV. The results were analyzed by Pearson correlation using SPSS.

Results: Mean serum of HDL, LDL, and cholesterol was lower than normal. These values for the first day were 33.16, 67.97, and 131.38 and for the second day were 23.63, 54.99, and 119.88, respectively. Mean APACH E IV score was 67.72. Result of Pearson correlation coefficient showed significant relationship (p<0.05) between APACHI IV score and cholesterol level of the first and second day, LDL level of the first and second day, HDL level of the second day. Moreover, there were significant relationships were observed between the real mortality rate and the cholesterol level of the first and second days, LDL level of the first and second days, and HDL level of the first day. There was a significant significant correlation between cholesterol level and LDL of the first and second days as well as HDL of the first day and duration of admission in ICU as predicted by APACHI IV.

Conclusion: The significant relationship between lipoprotein level of serum and APACHI IV indicates considering serum lipid beside other physiologic parameters for prediction of clinical consequences including mortality rate of ICU patients