(HealthDay)—The recently developed RAPID score, which identifies the risk of mortality in patients with pleural infections based on five clinical factors, has been validated in a diverse patient cohort. The findings have been published online July 20 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
Heath D. White, D.O., from Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, Texas, and colleagues aimed to further validate the RAPID score in a diverse cohort including 187 patients with culture-positive pleural infections. Patients were classified into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups based on RAPID scores (0 to 2, 3 to 4, and 5 to 7, respectively). The researchers examined all-cause mortality at three months and at one, three, and five years.
The researchers found that the three-month mortality scores were 1.5, 17.8, and 47.8 percent, respectively, for low-, medium-, and high-risk groups, with increased odds for the medium- and high-risk groups (odds ratios, 14.3 and 53.3, respectively). At one, three, and five years, the trend continued. Gram-negative rod infections, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, and increased length of stay correlated with high risk scores.
"When applied to a diverse patient cohort, the RAPID score predicts outcomes in patients up to five years and may aid in long term risk stratification on presentation," the authors write.
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