Pitt Bacteremia Score — BSI Severity & Mortality Risk

The Pitt Bacteremia Score (PBS) is a validated 5-item clinical severity scoring system for quantifying illness severity in patients with bacteremia (bloodstream infection, BSI). Developed by Rhee et al. at the University of Pittsburgh, it measures temperature abnormality, hypotension requiring vasopressors, mechanical ventilation, cardiac arrest, and altered mental status — each reflecting clinical deterioration attributable to the severity of the BSI and host response. PBS correlates strongly with in-hospital mortality in bacteremic patients and is used in clinical studies to adjust for illness severity.