Comparison of CURB-65, PSI, and qSOFA for predicting pneumonia mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Some patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) require hospitalization due to pneumonia. Although predictive scoring tools have been developed and validated for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), their usefulness in IPF is unknown. The Confusion, Urea, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure and Age (CURB-65) score and the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) are validated for CAP. The quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) is also reported to be useful. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of these tools to predict pneumonia mortality among hospitalized patients with IPF. A total of 79 patients with IPF and pneumonia were hospitalized for the first time between January 2008 and December 2017. The hospital mortality rate was 15.1%. A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the CURB-65 (odds ratio 4.04, 95% confidence interval 1.60–10.2, p = 0.003), PSI (4.00, 1.48–10.7, 0.006), and qSOFA (5.00, 1.44–1.72, 0.01) scores were significantly associated with hospital mortality. There was no statistically significant difference between the three receiver operating characteristic curves (0.712, 0.736, and 0.692, respectively). The CURB-65, PSI, and qSOFA are useful tools for predicting pneumonia mortality among hospitalized patients with IPF. Because of its simplicity, the qSOFA may be most suitable for early assessment.