Descriptive statistics—demographics, comorbidity and severity
| Hospital | Intervention | Control | Intervention | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURB65, confusion, urea, respiratory, blood pressure, age ⩾65. | ||||
| *All periods are 1 November to 30 April inclusive. | ||||
| CURB65 scores 3 (severe): three or more of the following criteria: (1) respiratory rate ⩾30/min, (2) systolic BP<90 mm Hg or diastolic BP ⩽60 mm Hg, (3) urea >7.0 mmol/l, (4) new confusion Mental Test Score ⩽8 and (5) age ⩾65 years; CURB65 2 (moderately severe): two of the above five criteria; CURB65 1 (non-severe): one or less of the above five criteria. | ||||
| †Statistically significant difference between intervention and control sites. | ||||
| ‡Trend towards significance (p = 0.05–0.1). | ||||
| Period* | 2001–2 Before | 2001–2 Before | 2002–3 After | 2002–3 After |
| Patients reviewed for inclusion | 623 | 770 | ||
| Total number of patients included | 181 | 60 | 209 | 53 |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age, mean (SD) | 69 (19) | 74 (16)† | 70 (17) | 68 (19) |
| Median (range) | 73 (16–98) | 79 (21–97) | 74 (16–98) | 72 (17–96) |
| Sex, % male | 47 | 55 | 45 | 43 |
| Residency, % living in own home | 78 | 83 | 83 | 85 |
| Living alone, % | 39 | 47 | 37 | 15† |
| Comorbidity and severity assessment | ||||
| Comorbidity—% with at least one significant comorbid illness (median number of chronic illnesses) | 68 (1) | 72 (1) | 66 (1) | 57 (1) |
| Severity assessment | ||||
| CURB65 score (%) | ||||
| 1 (least severe) | 34 | 33 | 28 | 40 |
| 2 | 29 | 22 | 28 | 41 |
| 3 (most severe) | 37 | 45 | 44 | 19† |
| British Thoracic Society core adverse prognostic indicators (% with each) | ||||
| New confusion | 31 | 35 | 37 | 15† |
| Urea >7 mmol/l | 58 | 63 | 57 | 62 |
| Respiratory rate ⩾30/min | 13 | 20 | 29 | 19 |
| Systolic BP<90 mm Hg | 7 | 0† | 8 | 2 |
| Diastolic BP ⩽60 mm Hg | 27 | 15‡ | 31 | 8† |