Patients with suspected infections presenting to the emergency department (ED) can potentially develop life-threatening conditions [1]. An early assessment of disease severity and the risk of disease progression of these patients in the ED is crucial to identify patients at high risk that need a higher level of care, immediate therapy, and hospitalization. Missed identification of high severity patients with initially low severities but a high potential for disease progression may lead to a delayed treatment or to inappropriate therapy and discharge decisions [2, 3].
