A comparison of three severity score indexes in an evaluation of serious bacterial pneumonia.

Two non specific severity scoring systems, acute physiological score (APS) and simplified acute physiological score (SAPS) are compared with a specific index (Sc) in an evaluation of 96 ICU patients with "serious" bacterial pneumonia. The three scores were measured during the first 24 h following ICU admission. There is a good correlation between APS, SAPS or Sc. Accuracy and efficiency of the non specific scoring indexes and Sc are similar. There is no statistical difference in sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, receiver operating characteristic curves of the three indexes. Simple and reliable non specific index such as SAPS, valid for a variety of pathologies, can be used in an evaluation of mortality and comparative studies of groups of patients with serious bacterial pneumonia.