CURB-65 Calculator
Community-acquired pneumonia severity assessment - guides decisions on site of care (home, hospital, or ICU).
CURB-65 Score
0/5
Low risk (1-2% mortality)
Consider home treatment with oral antibiotics
When to use CURB-65
Use CURB-65 for adult patients with suspected or confirmed community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). It helps determine severity and guides decisions about whether a patient can be managed at home, needs hospital admission, or requires intensive care assessment. Recommended by NICE and the British Thoracic Society.
How to interpret
- Score 0-1: Low risk (1-2% mortality) - consider home treatment with oral antibiotics
- Score 2: Moderate risk (9% mortality) - consider short inpatient stay or hospital-supervised outpatient treatment
- Score 3-4: High risk (15-22% mortality) - hospital admission, manage as severe pneumonia
- Score 5: Very high risk (>40% mortality) - urgent admission, consider ICU assessment
Clinical context
CURB-65 is derived from the British Thoracic Society modified pneumonia score. The "C" stands for Confusion (new mental confusion), "U" for Urea >7 mmol/L, "R" for Respiratory rate ≥30/min, "B" for Blood pressure (systolic <90 or diastolic ≤60), and "65" for age ≥65. CRB-65 (without urea) can be used in primary care where blood tests are not immediately available.
Use this calculator within your clinical workflow
Browse the full calculator library or use these tools inside ClinicalAssist alongside AI-powered clinical decision support for NHS clinicians.