SWAT is the acronym for Severity of Illness Assessment Tool or Severity Weighting Assessment Tool. SWAT is a severity assessment tool and is typically used to assess the complexity or severity of clinical situations, especially in tumor patients in oncology or palliative care.
SWAT
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General informationThis section has been translated automatically.
The SWAT tool is used to systematically evaluate clinical cases, e.g. as part of tumor boards or for interdisciplinary case discussions. It is used for prioritization, decision support and treatment planning.
Possible dimensions in SWAT (depending on version):
- Disease burden / tumor stage
- Symptom burden (e.g. pain, shortness of breath, fatigue)
- Psychosocial burden
- Need for therapy / need for intervention
- Prognosis
- Palliative care needs
Assessment: Each area is often assessed on a scale (e.g. 0-3 or 0-5). The sum or weighting points then result in an overall SWAT score, which can be used to classify cases as mild, moderate or highly complex, for example.
Application:
- Tumor boards (for case selection and case sequence)
- Palliative consultations
- Clinical studies for patient selection
- Resource planning
LiteratureThis section has been translated automatically.
- Stevens SR et al. (2002) Quantifying skin disease burden in mycosis fungoides-type cutaneous T-cell lymphomas: the severity-weighted assessment tool (SWAT). Arch Dermatol 138:42-8