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. 2025 Aug 8;78(3):e20240069.
doi: 10.1590/0034-7167-2024-0069. eCollection 2025.

COVID-19: association of the National Early Warning Score with triage categories, severity and outcomes

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Luiz Humberto Vieri Piacezzi  1 , Jaine Novaes da Silva  1 , Rui Carlos Negrão Baptista  2 , Karina Aparecida Lopes da Costa  1 , Maria Carolina Barbosa Teixeira Lopes  1 , Ruth Ester Assayag Batista  1 , Cássia Regina Vancini Campanharo  1
Affiliations

COVID-19: association of the National Early Warning Score with triage categories, severity and outcomes

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Luiz Humberto Vieri Piacezzi et al. Rev Bras Enferm. .

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Objectives: to identify the association of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) and NEWS Age with risk categories, severity markers and outcomes in the emergency department.

Methods: retrospective cohort study, conducted in a high-complexity hospital, with 356 hospitalized patients (mean age 59.4; ±14.4 years) with COVID-19, from April to August 2020. To verify the association between risk categories and alert scores, the chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis and likelihood ratio tests (p<0.05) were used.

Results: patients stratified in the red category had higher NEWS2 and NEWS Age (<0.0001) than the others. Clinical risk categorized by scores was associated with clinical deterioration (p<0.0001), orotracheal intubation (p<0.0001) and death (NEWS - p=0.0098/NEWS Age - p<0.0001).

Conclusions: scores ≥ 7 were associated with red/orange risk stratification, clinical deterioration and occurrence of death.

Objetivos:: identificar la asociación del National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) y NEWS Age con categorías de riesgo, marcadores de gravedad y resultados en el servicio de urgencias.

Métodos:: cohorte retrospectiva, realizada en un hospital de alta complejidad, con 356 pacientes ingresados (edad media 59,4; ±14,4 años) con COVID-19, de abril a agosto de 2020. Para verificar la asociación entre categorías de riesgo y puntajes de alerta se utilizaron las pruebas de chi-cuadrado, Kruskal-Wallis y razón de verosimilitud (p<0,05).

Resultados:: los pacientes clasificados en la categoría roja tenían NEWS2 y NEWS Age (<0,0001) más altos que los demás. El riesgo clínico categorizado por los puntajes se asoció con deterioro clínico (p<0,0001), intubación orotraqueal (p<0,0001) y muerte (NEWS - p=0,0098/NEWS Edad - p<0,0001).

Conclusiones:: puntuaciones ≥ 7 se asociaron con clasificación de riesgo rojo/naranja, deterioro clínico y ocurrencia de muerte.

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