Description

The Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) is a tool used to assess comorbidities in patients by recording the burden of diseases in various body systems. This scale is useful for evaluating the general health of patients and the potential impacts that comorbidities may have on health and therapeutic management.
The CIRS is a multidimensional scale that evaluates the severity of chronic diseases in 14 body systems. Each system is assessed independently, and comorbidities are recorded and rated according to their severity.

Analysis

The analysis of CIRS results allows healthcare professionals to assess the overall disease burden of the patient. Each system is rated from 0 to 4, where:
• 0: No pathology

• 1: Mild pathology that does not require treatment

• 2: Moderate pathology that requires periodic treatment

• 3: Severe pathology that requires intensive treatment or causes functional disability

• 4: Extremely severe pathology that threatens life

The total score is calculated by summing the scores for each system, providing an overall picture of the patient’s health.

Objective

The main goals of CIRS are:

Assessing the Burden of Comorbidities: To determine the overall burden of diseases on the body and how these comorbidities affect the patient’s health.
Assisting Clinical Decision-Making: To guide healthcare professionals in developing treatment strategies that consider the overall disease burden.
Monitoring Health Over Time: To allow for the monitoring of changes in the patient’s health status and adjust treatment accordingly.

Scoring

The total score of the CIRS can be used to quantify the total burden of comorbidities. Higher scores indicate a greater burden from chronic diseases and possibly a higher risk for negative health outcomes.

References

Linn, B. S., Linn, M. W., & Gurel, L. (1968). Cumulative illness rating scale. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 16(5), 622-626.
Miller, M. D., & Towers, A. (1991). A manual of guidelines for scoring the cumulative illness rating scale for geriatrics (CIRS-G). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 6(3), 192-198.