Evaluation of severity scoring systems in patients with severe community acquired pneumonia

Background. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of severity scoring systems to predict 30-day mortality in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia. Methods. The study included 98 patients aged >= 18 years with community acquired pneumonia hospitalized at the Intensive Care Unit of the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, during a 3-year period. We recorded demographic, clinical and common biochemical parameters. Five severity scores were calculated at admission: CURB 65 (Confusion, Urea, Respiratory Rate, Blood pressure, Age >= 65 years), SCAP (Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia score), SAPS II (Simplified Acute Physiology Score), SOFA (Sequential Organ Failure Assessment Score) and MPM (Mortality Prediction Model). Primary outcome variable was 30-day in-hospital mortality. Results. The mean age of the patients was 59.08 +/- 15.76 years, predominantly males (68%). The overall 30-day mortality was 52%. Charlson Comorbidity index was increased in non-survivors (3.72 +/- 2.33) and was associated with the outcome. All severity indexes had higher values in patients who died, that showed statistical significance between the analysed groups. The areas under curve (AUC) values of the five scores for 30-day mortality were 0.670, 0.732, 0,726, 0.785 and 0.777, respectively. Conclusion. Widely used severity scores accurately detected patients with pneumonia that had increased risk for poor outcome, but none of them individually demonstrated any advantage over the others.