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Background: Scoring systems including CURB-65 and Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) and novel or traditional biomarkers including procalcitonin (PCT) and c-reactive protein (CRP) are very significant for understanding the severity and prognosis in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients, while prognostic items are useful for CAP prognostication and point-of-care decisions. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of peripheral blood routine items in predicting ICU admission and 30-day mortality in CAP patients.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. All adult patients with a primary diagnosis of CAP were included and peripheral blood routine tests were evaluated. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to explore association of risk factors with 30-day mortality among CAP patients. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of peripheral blood routine items and compared with CURB-65 scores in predicting ICU admission and/or 30-day mortality.

Results: One hundred fifty patients were included and compared with non-ICU admission patients. There was a statistically significant difference in age, co-existing illness, RDW, WBC, and CURB-65 scores ranking in ICU admission patients (p < 0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found RDW, WBC, and CURB-65 ≥ 3 scores increased the risk of 30-day mortality by 4.01, 1.65, and 3.43 times, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) of ROC curves of RDW combined with WBC and CURB-65 was 0.786 (95% CI 0.701 to 0.876) and 0.836 (95% CI 0.764 to 0.908), respectively and the sensitivity was 84.0% and 60.0%, respectively, and the specificity 66.7% and 93.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: Elevated RDW and WBC increased mortality in adult CAP patients, RDW combined with WBC had a better sensitivity than CURB-65 scores in predicting ICU admission and/or mortality in CAP patients.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infectious disease. Inflammatory reaction and prognosis assessment in adult CAP patients are useful for CAP site of care decisions. Most CAP patients were diagnosed in an out-patient or emergency department, so a simple, cheap and rapidly available measurement to assess inflammatory reaction and prognosis has the prospect of broad application. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of plasma D-Dimer in assessment of inflammatory reaction and prognosis in adult CAP patients., Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. All adult patients with a primary diagnosis of CAP were included and were evaluated by peripheral plasma D-Dimer test. All of the measurement data were analyzed with paired t-test and the enumeration data were analyzed with χ2 test. Correlative factor analysis was performed between D-Dimer levels and serum inflammatory markers (WBC, hs-CRP, PCT) and prognostic indexes (ICU admission and 30-day mortality). Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of D-Dimer in predicting ICU admission and/or 30-day mortality., Results: One hundred fifty patients were included. Compared with non-D-Dimer elevated group, serum inflammatory markers (WBC, hs-CRP, PCT) and prognostic indexes (ICU admission and 30-day mortality) were elevated in the D-Dimer elevated group (p < 0.05). D-Dimer had positive correlation with serum inflammatory markers (WBC, hs-CRP, PCT), the rates of ICU admission and 30-day mortality, and scores of CURB-65. The AUC of ROC curve of D-Dimer was 0.880 (95% CI 0.823 to 0.936), the sensitivity was 80.4% and specificity was 79.8%, D-Dimer levels are superior to hs-CRP and PCT in predicting 30-day mortality and/or ICU admission according to AUCs of the ROC curves., Conclusions: Elevated plasma D-Dimer in adult CAP patients is associated with an increased inflammatory reaction and ICU admission and 30-day mortality. It can be a simple, cheap, and rapidly available measurement to assess inflammatory reaction and prognosis in adult CAP patients.