Hypoxemia Adds to the CURB-65 Pneumonia Severity Score in Hospitalized Patients With Mild Pneumonia
BACKGROUND: Hypoxemia may influence the prognosis of patients with mild pneumonia, regardless of the initial CURB-65 score (confusion, blood urea nitrogen > 20 mg/dL, respiratory rate > 30 breaths/min, blood pressure < 90/60 mm Hg, and age ≥ 65 y). OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk factors associated with hypoxemia and the influence of hypoxemia on clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with mild pneumonia. METHODS: We performed a multicenter prospective cohort study of 585 consecutive hospitalized patients with mild pneumonia (CURB-65 groups 0 and 1). We stratified the patients according to the presence of hypoxemia, defined as a PaO2/FIO2 < 300 mm Hg on admission. We assessed the risk …
Is it possible to predict which patients with mild pneumonias will develop hypoxemia?
SummaryUsually, mortality due to mild community-acquired pneumonias (CAP) (Pneumonia severity index (PSI) classes I–III) is low (<3%), but the appearance of hypoxemia significantly increases mortality. Our aim was to determine the clinical parameters associated with risk factors of developing hypoxemia in subjects with mild CAP (PSI I–III) and the clinical outcomes of the hypoxemic group.We analyzed clinical characteristics and the outcomes of patients with mild CAP and hypoxemia (PaO2/FiO2<300), in a prospective, multicenter cohort study of 1195 patients.Mild pneumonias (PSI I–III) were found in 645 cases (53.9%), of which 217 (33.6%) presented hypoxemia according to a PaO2/FiO2<300. Patie…