Background: Community-acquired pneumonia has an annual incidence of approximately 4 million adults each year, and of these, 600,000 are hospitalized. It is generally felt that a large number of these hospitalizations can be avoided with adequate risk assessment. This calculator uses Fine et al.'s criteria (Fine et al., 1997) to provide one validated approach to this risk stratification.

Conditions of calculator use: This calculator is provided for educational purposes only. No warranty as to its suitability is made, expressed or implied. It is a starting point for prognostic staging of community acquired pneumonia (CAP). This calculator is to be used only by qualified clinicians in conjunction with their best clinical judgment.

Bibliography

Ewig et al. Comparative validation of prognostic rules for community-acquired pneumonia in an elderly population. Eur. Respir J. 14: 370-375, 1999.

Fine et al. A prediction rule to identify low-risk patients with community acquired pneumonia. NEJM 336: 243-250, 1997.

Flanders et al. Validation of the Pneumonia Severity Index. Importance of study-specific recalibration. J. Gen Intern Med 14: 333-340, 1999.