Parks Taylor S, et al. - In this retrospective observational cohort study performed at 12 acute care hospitals in the Southeastern United States, researchers assessed whether the quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment tool allows an accurate prediction of mortality across increasing levels of comorbidity burden. Participants were patients (n=52,187) with suspected infection who visited the Emergency Department between January 2014 and September 2017. Using vital signs and laboratory values reported during the first 24 hours, they calculated quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment risk scores by utilizing electronic health record data. They quantified the comorbidity burden by calculating Charlson Comorbidity Index scores. According to the findings, as the comorbidity burden increased, a decline in the accuracy of quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment to predict hospital mortality was observed. Possibly, baseline abnormalities in quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment variables exist in patients with comorbidities, which in turn, attenuate predictive accuracy.