Rhb. Decourcywheeler et al., USE OF THE CRIB (CLINICAL RISK INDEX FOR BABIES) SCORE IN PREDICTION OF NEONATAL-MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY, Archives of Disease in Childhood, 73(1), 1995, pp. 32-36
A prospective study of the outcome of care of a regional cohort of ver
y low birthweight (< 1500 g) and very preterm (< 32 weeks) infants was
carried out. Its aims were to assess the ability of the CRIB (clinica
l risk index for babies) score, rather than gestational age or birthwe
ight, to predict mortality before hospital discharge, neurological mor
bidity, and length of stay, and to access CRIB score as an indicator o
f neonatal intensive care performance. 676 live births fulfilled the c
riteria and complete data were available for 643 (95%). Compared with
gestation and birthweight, CRIB was better for the prediction of morta
lity, was as good for the prediction of morbidity, and was not as good
for the prediction of length of stay. CRIB adjusted mortality did not
demonstrate better performance in units providing the highest level o
f care, Either the CRIB score was not sensitive to performance or the
level 3 hospitals in this study were performing badly. On the basis of
this analysis purchasers and providers of neonatal intensive care can
not yet rely on the CRIB score as a performance indicator.