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Using the Pneumonia Severity Index to guide outpatient treatment
The Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), which categorizes patients into 5 groups according to risk of short-term mortality, is used at some centers to determine which patients with community-acquired pneumonia can be safely treated as outpatients. Is this a reasonable practice? Yes, according to a multicenter study conducted in France, which found that use of the PSI in emergency departments (EDs) is associated with a greater likelihood of low-risk patients being treated as outpatients, without compromising patient safety.
The Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI), which categorizes patients into 5 groups according to risk of short-term mortality, is used at some centers to determine which patients with community-acquired pneumonia can be safely treated as outpatients. Is this a reasonable practice? Yes, according to a multicenter study conducted in France, which found that use of the PSI in emergency departments (EDs) is associated with a greater likelihood of low-risk patients being treated as outpatients, without compromising patient safety.
The study included 925 patients (median age, 71 years) with pneumonia from 8 EDs. The PSI was used in 51% of the patients. About 49% of all patients were considered to be at low risk.
About 43% of the low-risk patients in the PSI group were treat- ed as outpatients, compared with about 24% of those in the non-PSI group. A multivariate analysis indicated that the likelihood of receiving outpatient treatment was increased among patients in the PSI group who were in risk class I or II (low risk).
The analysis also found that after adjusting for pneumonia severity, the mortality rate was lower in the PSI group.
FDA Proposed Rule Would Limit Nicotine Content in Cigarettes, Cigars, Other Combusted Products
January 16th 2025The agency estimates that limiting nicotine levels could lead to 1.8 million fewer tobacco-related deaths by 2060 and health care savings of $1.1 trillion a year over the next 40 years.
