BACKGROUND

The CURB-65 scoring system is a simple tool in assessment and prognosis prediction for communityacquired pneumonia (CAP) patients. However, the variations in performance of CURB-65 in young and elderly patients, underestimation or overestimation of the severity, and mortality have often been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of serum high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) combined with CURB-65 in predicting ICU admission and 30-day mortality in CAP patients.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective study. All patients over 18 years of age with a primary diagnosis of CAP were included, all of them received serum hs-CRP test and CURB-65 scaring evaluation. The main outcome measures were ICU admission and 30-day mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the CURB-65 model and hs-CRP combined CURB-65 augmented model in predicting the main outcomes.

RESULTS

Data from 150 patients was analyzed, in which the rate for patients requiring ICU admission was 30.67%, and the ultimate mortality rate was 24%. The areas of ROC curves (AUC) of CURB-65 was 0.859 (95% CI 0.705 to 1.000), hs-CRP combined CURB-65 augmented model was 0.864 (95% CI 0.692 to 1.000), ROC curve analyses showed the augmented model had higher sensitivity than the CURB-65 model in predicting main outcomes (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Measurement of serum hs-CRP in addition to the CURB-65 model improved the clinical usefulness in predicting ICU admission and mortality in CAP patients.