Performance of Early Warning Scores tested, ranked by their discrimination
| Score | Cut-off | Sensitivity (95% CI) | Specificity (95% CI) | AUROC | SE | 95% CI | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEWS + IM | ≥8 | 0.85
(0.77–0.93) | 0.79
(0.70–0.88) | 0.871 | 0.027 | 0.818 | 0.924 |
| NEWS2 + IM | ≥8 | 0.85
(0.77–0.93) | 0.79
(0.70–0.88) | 0.871 | 0.027 | 0.818 | 0.924 |
| NEWS2 | ≥7 | 0.75
(0.65–0.85) | 0.83
(0.74–0.92) | 0.854 | 0.029 | 0.798 | 0.910 |
| UVA + IM | ≥4 | 0.81
(0.72–0.90) | 0.78
(0.68–0.88) | 0.852 | 0.029 | 0.795 | 0.908 |
| NEWS | ≥7 | 0.72
(0.62–0.82) | 0.84
(0.76–0.92) | 0.843 | 0.029 | 0.786 | 0.901 |
| Binary NEWS + IM* | ≥4 | 0.79
(0.70–0.88) | 0.78
(0.68–0.88) | 0.843 | 0.029 | 0.786 | 0.900 |
| TEWS | ≥4 | 0.83
(0.74–0.92) | 0.74
(0.64–0.84) | 0.835 | 0.030 | 0.777 | 0.894 |
| MEWS + IM | ≥5 | 0.82
(0.73–0.91) | 0.73
(0.63–0.83) | 0.831 | 0.030 | 0.772 | 0.890 |
| TOTAL | ≥2 | 0.64
(0.53–0.75) | 0.89
(0.82–0.96) | 0.830 | 0.030 | 0.771 | 0.889 |
| UVA | ≥3 | 0.65
(0.54–0.76) | 0.85
(0.77–0.93) | 0.819 | 0.031 | 0.758 | 0.879 |
| Binary NEWS | ≥3 | 0.82
(0.73–0.91) | 0.65
(0.54–0.76) | 0.809 | 0.031 | 0.748 | 0.871 |
| MEWS + age | ≥5 | 0.74
(0.64–0.84) | 0.74
(0.64–0.84) | 0.806 | 0.032 | 0.744 | 0.867 |
| TEWS minus IM | ≥3 | 0.85
(0.77–0.93) | 0.65
(0.54–0.76) | 0.802 | 0.032 | 0.740 | 0.864 |
| PARIS | ≥3 | 0.68
(0.57–0.79) | 0.82
(0.73–0.91) | 0.799 | 0.032 | 0.736 | 0.861 |
| MEWS | ≥3 | 0.79
(0.70–0.88) | 0.66
(0.55–0.77) | 0.791 | 0.032 | 0.727 | 0.854 |
+ IM = three points added to EWS if impaired mobility; + IM* = one point added to EWS if impaired mobility; AUROC = area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; CI = confidence interval; MEWS = Modified Early Warning Score; minus IM = points for impaired mobility removed from the EWS; NEWS = National Early Warning Score; NEWS2 = National Early Warning Score 2; PARIS = blood pressure, age, respiratory rate, loss of independence and peripheral oxygen saturation score; SD = standard deviation; SE = standard error; TEWS = Triage Early Warning Score; TOTAL = tachypnoea, oxygen saturation, temperature, alert, loss of independence score; UVA = Universal Vital Assessment score.