title: Predicting the need for mechanical ventilation and/or inotropic support for young adults admitted to the hospital with community-acquired pneumonia.
abstract: The UK Department of Health has published concerns that pneumonia severity scores determined at hospital admission may underestimate the severity of pneumonia in young adults. SMART-COP (systolic blood pressure, multilobar chest radiography involvement, albumin level, respiratory rate, tachycardia, confusion, oxygenation, and arterial pH) was superior to both the CURB65 (confusion, urea, respiratory rate, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, and age >or=65 years) score and the Pneumonia Severity Index in predicting the need for mechanical ventilation and/or inotropic support, but SMART-COP would still incorrectly stratify 15% of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. jamesdchalmers@googlemail.com
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Chalmers
authors.forename: Aran
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singanayagam
authors.forename: Adam T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D012121:Respiration, Artificial; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002316:Cardiotonic Agents