The Role Boey's Score in Predicting Mortality and Morbidity of Perforated Peptic Ulcer

Background: Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) can result in severe consequences, such as hemorrhage, perforation, and gastric outlet obstruction. Perforated peptic ulcer (PPU) has a high morbidity and mortality rate. Therefore, it is essential to classify patients with PPU into distinct groups to enhance their prognosis. Several prognostic factors for morbidity and mortality following a perforated peptic ulcer have been identified, but the most widely recognized is Boey's score, known for its simplicity and high predictive accuracy. Aim: The study evaluates the validity of the Boey score in forecasting the outcomes and survival rates of patients who undergo surgical intervention for peptic perforation. Patients and methods: This is a retrospective case study, which took place at Cho Ray Hospital in Vietnam from January 2021 to December 2022. We employed receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis to assess the validity of the Boey score. Results: The study involved 255 patients. The overall death rate was 25.5%, and the complication rate was 54.1%. The death rate rose gradually with higher Boey scores: 0%, 2.3%, 31.9%, and 70.1% for scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively (p < 0.001). The complication rates for scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3 were 12.5%, 26.7%, 75%, and 98.2%, respectively (p < 0.001). The AUC of the Boey score for forecasting death was 0.878 and for predicting complications was 0.862. Conclusion: Peptic ulcer perforation (PUP) is a prevalent condition with high mortality and morbidity rates. The Boey score is a simple and accurate prognostic tool for postoperative outcomes and survival.