CURB-65 as an initial prognostic score in Internal Medicine patients

Abstract Background There are few validated tools to assess severity in patients admitted to an Internal Medicine service. The aim of this study was to evaluate if CURB-65 score, previously validated as mortality index in community acquired pneumonia, could also be used in those patients. Methods We analyzed prospectively all patients admitted to Hospital Sierrallana (Spain) from 1 March to 31 October 2010. Variables of the CURB-65 score (confusion, serum urea > 7 mmol/L (42 mg/dl), respiratory rate ≥ 30/min, systolic blood pressure  Results 539 patients were studied (51% males; mean age: 78 ± 14 years; mortality 12%). A high CURB-65 score was a significant predictor of 30 day mortality (p  Conclusion Our findings suggest that CURB-65 score may be a simple and useful tool to help clinicians in establishing the prognosis of patients admitted to general Internal Medicine wards.