This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

CRB65 score in the assessment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • Clinical judgement is essential in disease severity assessment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP):

    • stability of any comorbid illness and a patient's social circumstances should be considered when assessing disease severity
    • severity assessment of CAP in patients seen in the community

      • for all patients, clinical judgement supported by the CRB65 score should be applied when deciding whether to treat at home or refer to hospital

        • CRB65 score
          • one point is awarded for each of the following features:
            • Confusion - recent
            • Respiratory rate 30 breaths/min or greater
            • Blood pressure - systolic of 90 mmHg or less or a diastolic of 60 mmHg or less
            • 65 years of age or older

        • patients who have a CRB65 score of 0 are at low risk of death and do not normally require hospitalisation for clinical reasons

        • patients who have a CRB65 score of 1 or 2 are at increased risk of death, particularly with a score of 2, and hospital referral and assessment should be considered

        • patients who have a CRB65 score of 3 or more are at high risk of death and require urgent hospital admission

      • when deciding on home treatment, the patient's social circumstances and wishes must be taken into account in all instance

  • pulse oximetry in CAP
    • if available, use pulse oximetry to assess the severity of people with suspected pneumonia and other acute respiratory illnesses
      • people with oxygen saturation < 92% require admission to hospital

Reference:

1. British Thoracic Society. 2015 - Annotated BTS guideline for the management of CAP in adults (2009) summary of recommendations. Jan 2015


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.