Abstract
Background: The CURB-65 score is a simple well validated tool for the assessment of severity in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Whether it is used routinely is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of use of the score in routine hospital practice and the consequences of no implementation.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of data from 1230 patients with CAP in a Chinese affiliated hospital of a medical college was performed.
Results: None of the patients with CAP had CURB-65 score applied at admission. 716 (58.2%) patients who had a CURB-65 score of 0 were unnecessarily hospitalized. 402 (32.7%) patients who had a CURB-65 score of 1 might be admitted unnecessarily. 14 (1.2%) patients who had a CURB-65 score of 3 or more were not admitted to critical care unit. The unnecessary total annual costs for managing CAP with CURB-65 score of 0 and 1 were estimated at $ 94 512 and $ 66 410.4 in the hospital, respectively.
Conclusions: Non-compliance with the CURB-65 scoring tool in patients with CAP was observed in routine hospital practice. No implementation of the measurement of the score incurred inappropriate hospitalization and unnecessary costs.
- © 2011 ERS