Determining the Adequacy of CURB-65 and qCSI Scores in Predicting the Necessity of the ICU for COVID-19 Patients

Abstract

Objective: In this study, the adequacy of the Quick COVID Severity Index (qCSI) and CURB-65 scoring systems in predicting the prognosis and need for intensive care in patients who were admitted to the emergency room and hospitalized due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) were examined. Methods: The files of all adult patients over the age of 18 years who were hospitalized with the diagnosis of COVID-19 between January 1 and June 1, 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with negative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test results, patients transferred from another hospital, and patients whose data to be used in the two risk scores could not be reached were excluded from the study. Results: A total of 325 people were included in the study, with an average age of 58.2±17.2%, 48.3% male and 51.7% female. As a result of the ROC analysis of the CURB-65 score in estimating the need for hospitalization in the intensive care unit (ICU), the area under the curve (AUC) was found to be 0.843 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.799–0.881), and the Youden index was 0.584, p value was 0.001. As a result of the ROC analysis of the qCSI score in estimating the need for ICU hospitalization, the AUC was found to be 0.921 (95% CI: 0.886–0.948), and the Youden’s index was 0.7520, p value was 0.001. When the value of the two scores in predicting the need for ICU admission was compared, it was found that the qCSI score was more successful than the CURB-65 score. Conclusion: In this study, the predictive powers of qCSI and CURB-65 scores in predicting the ICU requirement of COVID-19 patients admitted to the emergency department were compared. It was concluded that the qCSI score was superior to CURB-65. ABSTRACT