CURB-65
Score CURB-65 for community-acquired pneumonia severity.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Confusion (new)
- Yes
- Age >= 65
- Yes
Result: CURB-65 2 (consider hospitalization).
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- 0-1
- Low severity (30-day mortality ~1.5%). Likely suitable for outpatient treatment per source.
- 2
- Intermediate severity (mortality ~9.2%). Short hospital stay or closely supervised outpatient treatment per source.
- 3-5
- Severe pneumonia (mortality ~22%). Manage as severe; assess for ICU admission, especially with score 4-5, per source.
What you enter
- Confusion (new) (1)
- BUN > 20 mg/dL (1)
- RR >= 30/min (1)
- SBP < 90 or DBP <= 60 (1)
- Age >= 65 (1)
What this is
Sophie Well sums one point each for Confusion, Urea >7 mmol/L (BUN >19 mg/dL), Respiratory rate >=30, Blood pressure (systolic <90 or diastolic <=60), and Age >=65, returning the total (0-5) plus the conventional 30-day mortality band that maps to outpatient, short-stay, or ICU consideration. Source: Lim WS et al, Thorax 2003.
When to use it
Use CURB-65 to inform the admit-vs-discharge conversation for adult CAP in primary care or the ED. PSI (Fine score) is a more granular alternative when the inputs are available. Neither score replaces clinical judgment in immunocompromise, hemodynamic instability, hypoxia, or social factors that preclude safe outpatient management.
How this is calculated
Lim WS, et al. Defining community acquired pneumonia severity. Thorax. 2003;58(5):377-382. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.