Ranson criteria are used to predict mortality in which condition?

• A. Sepsis
• B. Heart failure
• C. Pancreatitis
• D. Stroke

Answer: (C)

Ranson criteria are used to estimate how severe acute pancreatitis is and to predict the chance of death. The score combines measurements present at admission with changes that develop in the first 48 hours. On admission, factors include age over 55, white blood cell count over 16,000, blood glucose over 200 mg/dL, serum AST over 250 U/L, and LDH over 350 U/L. Within the next 48 hours, additional changes include a hematocrit drop greater than 10%, rising BUN, calcium falling below 8 mg/dL, arterial PO2 under 60 mmHg, base deficit over 4 mEq/L, and fluid sequestration over about 6 liters. Each criterion met increases the overall score, and a higher total correlates with a greater risk of mortality and complications, guiding the intensity of monitoring and care.

These criteria are specific to pancreatitis prognosis and aren’t used to predict mortality in sepsis, heart failure, or stroke, which rely on different scoring systems (for example, sepsis uses SOFA/qSOFA, heart failure uses Killip/BNP approaches, and stroke uses NIHSS).