Diagnosis and management of community and hospital acquired pneumonia in adults: summary of NICE guidance.

Summary of a study, which may be published alone or as an introduction to a full scientific paper. A-DROP score Severity scoring system developed by the Japanese respiratory society that includes the following parameters: Age (male ≥ 70 years, female ≥ 75 years) Dehydration (blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ≥ 210 mg/l) Respiratory failure (SaO2 ≤ 90% or PaO2 ≤ 60 mm Hg) Orientation disturbance (confusion) Low blood Pressure (SBP ≤ 90 mm Hg). American Thoracic Society (ATS) severity criteria Severity assessment tool including major criteria (invasive ventilation, septic shock) and minor criteria (low systolic blood pressure ≤ 90 mmHg, multilobar disease, PaO2/FiO2 ratio ≤ 250). American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2001 criteria of clinical stability Criteria of clinical stability including the following variables: improved symptoms of pneumonia (cough and shortness of breath), lack of fever for at least 8 h, improving leucocytosis (decrease at least 10% from the previous day). APACHE II Severity assessment tool developed to predict ITU mortality. Attrition bias Systematic differences between comparison groups in withdrawals or exclusions of participants from a study. Atypical organisms/pathogens: Organisms that may be regarded as unusual causes of pneumonia including Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Chlamydophila psittaci. AUC Area under the curve of a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. See ‘ROC’. Allocation concealment The process used to prevent advance knowledge of group assignment in an RCT. The allocation process should be impervious to any influence by the individual making the allocation, by being administered by someone who is not responsible for recruiting participants. Applicability How well the results of a study or NICE evidence review can answer a clinical question or be applied to the population being considered. Arm (of a clinical study) Subsection of individuals within a study who receive one particular intervention, for example placebo arm Association Statistical relationship between 2 or more events, characteristics or other variables. The relationship may or may not be causal. Available case analysis (ACA) Analysis of data that is available for participants at the end of follow-up. Baseline The initial set of measurements at the beginning of a study (after run-in period where applicable), with which subsequent results are compared. Before-and-after study A study that investigates the effects of an intervention by measuring particular characteristics of a population both before and after taking the intervention, and assessing any change that occurs.