External Validation of the Oakland Score to Assess Safe Hospital Discharge Among Adult Patients With Acute Lower Gastrointestinal Bleeding in the US

Key Points Question Is the Oakland Score a valid tool for assessing the risk of adverse outcomes among a large population of adult patients with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding in the United States? Findings In this prognostic study of 38 067 adult patients who were hospitalized with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding, the Oakland Score consistently identified patients who were at low risk of experiencing adverse outcomes. Extension of the Oakland Score threshold from 8 points or lower to 10 points or lower for assessing whether a patient can safely be discharged from the hospital could detect more patients who have a low risk of experiencing adverse outcomes and potentially avoid hospitalization in 17.8% of patients whose conditions could safely be managed on an outpatient basis. Meaning The findings of this study suggest that adoption of the Oakland Score into the triage process for patients presenting to hospitals in the US could reduce the rate of hospitalization among patients with acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding.