A new study published in the journal Pragmatic and Observational Research highlights the practices in the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the UK primary care. One of the key findings of the study was the inadequate recording of CRB65 scores in primary care.
Researchers conducted a retrospective observational study to assess the management of CAP in UK primary care between 2009 and 2016, with a key focus on the recording of CRB65 scores and prescription of antibiotics. The patient data were extracted from the Optimum Patient Care Research Database.
The findings showed that CRB65 scores were recorded in only 19 (0.4%; 95% CI, 0.24-0.63%) episodes of CAP managed in primary care, of which 17 were after the publication of the NICE guidelines in December 2014. The proportion of episodes where CRB65 was recorded was similar in those resulting in a hospital referral (0.3%, 95% CI, 0.16-0.55%), although the median score was higher in this group.
"Further work is needed to assess feasibility of using CRB65 scores in primary care, GPs awareness of the inclusion of these scores in both the BTS and NICE guidelines and potential barriers to use of CRB65," the authors concluded.
