REVIEW

Neonatal disease severity scoring systems

J S Dorling¹, D J Field¹ and B Manktelow²

¹ Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Neonatal Unit, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK
² Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, 22–28 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Dorling
Neonatal Unit, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK; JSD10{at}le.ac.uk

Illness severity scores have become widely used in neonatal intensive care. Primarily this has been to adjust the mortality observed in a particular hospital or population for the morbidity of their infants, and hence allow standardised comparisons to be performed. However, although risk correction has become relatively commonplace in relation to audit and research involving groups of infants, the use of such scores in giving prognostic information to parents, about their baby, has been much more limited. The strengths and weaknesses of the existing methods of disease severity correction in the newborn are presented in this review.

Abbreviations: Az, area under the ROC curve; CRIB, clinical risk index for babies; FIO₂, fractional inspired concentration of oxygen; NBRS, neurobiological risk score; NTISS, neonatal therapeutic intervention scoring system; PO₂, partial pressure of oxygen; ROC curve, receiver operating characteristic curve; SNAP, score for neonatal acute physiology; SNAP-PE, score for neonatal acute physiology-perinatal extension; VLBW, very low birthweight

Keywords: risk score; survival; prediction; risk correction

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Dorling, J. S, Field, D. J (2008). Value and validity of neonatal disease severity scoring systems. Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 93: F80-F82 [Full Text]  
• Kamoji, V. M., Dorling, J. S., Manktelow, B. N., Draper, E. S., Field, D. J. (2006). Extremely Growth-Retarded Infants: Is There a Viability Centile?. Pediatrics 118: 758-763 [Abstract] [Full Text]  

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