🩺 CURB-65 Calculator

What is CURB-65?

CURB-65 is a clinical scoring system used to assess the severity of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and determine whether a patient requires hospitalization. Developed in 2003 by a group of scientists from Nottingham's Respiratory Infection Research Group, it was validated in a large group of 1,068 patients from the UK, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

The score enables healthcare providers to stratify patients by mortality risk and make evidence-based decisions about the most appropriate treatment setting — hospital admission or outpatient management.

Diseases of the Lungs

The lungs are the primary organs of the human respiratory system. Because with each breath we inhale not only fresh air but also pathogens and toxic substances, the lungs are frequently affected by diseases:

• Lung cancer — the most common cancer in adults worldwide
• Pulmonary embolism — a life-threatening condition, especially in immobilized patients
• Pneumonia — a common and significant problem, particularly in hospitalized patients
• COPD — chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often linked to smoking
• Asthma — chronic inflammatory condition affecting airways

What is Community-Acquired Pneumonia?

CAP (community-acquired pneumonia) is an inflammatory process in the lungs occurring in a person with little contact with the healthcare system. This is distinct from HAP (hospital-acquired pneumonia), which develops in patients who have been hospitalized for at least 48–72 hours.

This distinction is crucial because different pathogens cause pneumonia in these two situations, leading to different treatment approaches. Common CAP pathogens include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and atypical organisms like Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

The CURB-65 Criteria

CURB-65 is an acronym consisting of five simple clinical measurements. For each criterion met, the patient receives one point:

Pneumonia Admission Criteria

The CURB-65 score directly guides treatment setting decisions:

CURB-65 Score	Mortality	Disposition
0	0.6%	Treat as outpatient
1	2.7%	Treat as outpatient
2	6.8%	Consider hospitalization
3	14.0%	Hospitalization required
4–5	27.8%	Hospitalization required (consider ICU)

In simple terms: the patient should be admitted to the hospital if the probability of death exceeds approximately 7%.

How to Use This Calculator

1. Check the Confusion box if the patient has new-onset confusion
2. Enter the BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) value in mg/dL or mmol/L
3. Enter the Respiratory Rate in breaths per minute
4. Enter the patient's Age in years
5. Enter Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure in mmHg
6. Click "Calculate CURB-65 Score"
7. Review the score, criteria breakdown, and recommended disposition

Unlike simplified binary checklist tools, this calculator accepts raw clinical values and automatically applies the CURB-65 thresholds, reducing the chance of manual scoring errors.

Clinical Considerations

While CURB-65 is a valuable tool, clinicians should also consider:

• Patient's social situation and ability to take oral medications
• Co-morbidities not captured by the score
• Clinical judgment about disease progression
• Local antibiotic resistance patterns
• Availability of outpatient follow-up

⚠️ Disclaimer: This calculator is intended for educational and informational purposes. Clinical decisions should always involve professional medical judgment.