see:
- [Utility of community-acquired pneumonia severity scores in guiding disposition from the emergency department: Intensive care or short-stay unit](bookends://sonnysoftware.com/ref/DL/86709)
- [Prediction of severe community-acquired pneumonia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.](bookends://sonnysoftware.com/ref/DL/291530)
- [RMH study on CORB 2007: Identifying severe community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department: a simple clinical prediction tool.](bookends://sonnysoftware.com/ref/DL/277894)
[Dunn - Pneumonia Scoring systems](x-devonthink-item://F66576C0-CDD5-4EF4-B0DE-37E3C6281A01)
- In general, scores are better at predicting severe disease than mild disease
- there is [considerable variability]([Hospital admission decision for patients with community-acquired pneumonia: variability among physicians in an emergency department.](bookends://sonnysoftware.com/ref/DL/240511)) between different ED physician choices about pneumonia admission
| Score | Best use | Benefits | Limitations |
| --------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| CURB-65 | predict mortality | - specific for severe disease<br>- well-validated | - less sensitive than SMART-COP<br>- may underestimate severity in young, over-estimate in old |
| SMART-COP | predict need for ICU | - useful for identifying severe CAP<br>- focus on pneumonia clinical severity rather than risk factors | - does not estimate mortality<br>- other variables eg age, co-morbidity may still make ICU indicated<br>- complex to calculate |
| CORB | predict need for ICU/ severe disease | - easiest to perform<br>- specific for severe disease | - not great at identifying low-risk pneumonia appropriate for discharge (CORB >0 likely needs admission) |
| PSI | predict mortality | - decent at identifying low-risk CAP | - very difficult to perform (20 variables) |
## CURB 65
C - confusion - 1
U - urea > 7 - 1
R - RR ≥ 30 - 1
B - SBP ≤ 90 or diastolic ≤ 60 - 1
65 - age > 65
> score ≥ 2 = 7.6% 30-day mortality
### CRB-65
modification that doesn't require urea
likely performs equally well as CURB-65 and PSI
## SMARTCOP
> - use in pts with CAP who may require ICU
> - does not estimate mortality
score ≥ 7 points = 50% risk of needing intensive resp support or vasopressor support
- S - Systolic BP < 90 - 2
- M - multilobar - 1
- A - albumin < 35 - 1
- R - ↑ - 1
- age ≤ 50 RR ≥ 25
- age > 50 ≥ 30
- T - tachycardia - 1
- C - confusion - 1
- O - oxygen ↓ - 2
- age ≤ 50 O2 ≤ 93% or P:F <333
- age > 40 O2 ≤ 90%
- P - pH < 7.35 - 2
## CORB
- C - confusion (acute)
- O - oxygen sat ≤ 90%
- R - RR ≥ 30
- B - systolic BP < 90 or diastolic ≤ 60
"Severe CAP" ≥ 2 (although likely admit if > 0)
## Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI)
first widely used, and now least useful scoring system
- predicts mortality
- less sensitive and specific than CURB 65
- many more variables and harder to compute than CURB 65