Revista médica de Chile
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Revista médica de Chile · Sep 2004
Editorial Comment[Prediction rules in community acquired pneumonia].
The determination of site of care is an essential decision in the management of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Patients with mild to moderate CAP may be safely treated at home. Instead, those patients with severe pneumonia must be hospitalized to assure an effective treatment. ⋯ However, this rule requires to be validated in the ambulatory setting before its wide spread use is suggested. Prediction rules are objective and relatively accurate models to assess prognosis that may aid clinicians to evaluate patient's risks and to improve hospitalization decisions. Nevertheless, although the prediction rules may guide the initial management of patients with CAP, they are not intended to replace the clinical judgment, which remains as the "art of medicine."