Health
Pneumonia-risk calculator available for handhelds
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 22, 2004
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has available a clinical decision-support tool for personal digital assistants that is designed to help physicians determine whether a patient with community-acquired pneumonia should be treated at home or in the hospital.
The Pneumonia Severity Index Calculator is based on a clinical algorithm produced in 1997 by an AHRQ-funded research team. The algorithm has been validated in a broad, randomized controlled trial and was shown to be safe, cost-effective and to improve satisfaction by enabling patients to be treated at home rather than the hospital when appropriate, according to the agency.
Community-acquired pneumonia contracted outside of a hospital or nursing home affects approximately 4 million Americans and costs about $10 billion to treat each year. Nearly all of those costs are spent on treating patients who are hospitalized for care.
AHRQ identified a sizable number of low-risk patient who could be treated safely as outpatients, but noted that these patients must be accurately identified before such treatment is recommended.
The tool is available for download from the AHRQ Web site (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/03/22/hlbf0322.htm.