Westley Croup Score

The Westley croup score is validated and commonly used in clinical practice (Table 1). Children with croup can be divided into four levels of severity [6-8]:

  • Mild (croup score 0-2)
  • Moderate (croup score 3-5)
  • Severe (croup score 6-11)
  • Impending respiratory failure (croup score 12-17)

85% of children have mild croup. Around 5% of children with croups require admission to hospital and of these 1-3% require intubation. In a 10-year study of those intubated there was 0.5% mortality rate. Uncommon complications include pneumonia and bacterial tracheitis [9].

Table 1 Westley Croup Score
Score Stridor Retractions Air Entry SaO2 <92% Level of consciousness
0 None None Normal None Normal
1 Upon agitation Mild Mild decrease
2 At rest Moderate Marked decrease
3 Severe
4 Upon agitation
5 At rest Decreased