Charlson Comorbidity Index

The Charlson comorbidity index gives patients with more than one comorbid condition a one-year mortality prediction. Examples of the broad range of comorbid conditions in which these apply are heart disease, AIDS, or cancer. In fact, there are a total of 22 conditions that are part of the Charlson comorbidity index. When you suspect that you may have comorbid conditions, then a dual diagnosis rehab center in Florida will be the first step for your healing recovery.

What is the Charlson comorbidity index?

Comorbid conditions refer to having more than one medical condition at a time. For example, someone may have heart disease and a mental health disorder. Another person may have generalized anxiety as well as substance use disorder. Also, the index is similar to a scale that gauges the mortality rate for a person who has those two conditions.

How does the Charlson comorbidity index?

The Charlson comorbidity index assigns each condition a score of 1, 2, 3, or 6, depending on what the risk of dying is for each one.

There are several variations of the Charlson comorbidity index including:

• Charlson/Deyo
• Charlson/Romano
• Charlson/Manitoba
• Charlson/D’Hoores

The scoring for the index is as follows:

• Myocardial infarct, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, connective tissue disease, ulcer, chronic liver disease, diabetes each is scored 1 point
• Hemiplegia, moderate or severe kidney disease, diabetes with end-organ damage, tumor, leukemia, lymphoma each are scored 2 points
• Moderate or severe liver disease each is scored 3 points
• Malignant tumor, metastasis, AIDS each is scored 6 points

How does the index score assist with diagnosis and treatment?

The scoring is helpful to physicians because it guides them in determining how aggressively to treat a condition. For example, a patient may have cancer with comorbid heart disease and diabetes. If the comorbidities are very severe, then risks of cancer treatment would outweigh its short-term benefit.

How will the dual diagnosis help recovery efforts? 

If you have a substance use disorder as well as a mental health condition, you have a comorbid condition. Although it may not be on the Charlson index, you will still benefit from the special treatment of dual diagnosis treatment.

With dual diagnosis treatment, therapists will address each need individually, while at the same time helping you discover how each one may interconnect. Some of the therapies include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Dialectical behavioral therapy
• EMDR therapy program
• Trauma therapy program
• Mindfulness based therapy
• 12-step program
• Experiential therapy program

Find Hope at Beaches Recovery

At Beaches, our compassionate staff uses evidence-based therapies to assist in the recovery process. We specialize in comorbidities, thereby ensuring you get to the root of dual diagnoses.

Don’t let addiction ruin your life. You can overcome your problems by going to a quality drug rehab. Contact us at 866.605.0532, and we’ll get you on the road to recovery.