[Clinical analysis of community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical features, etiology, and outcome of patients over 65 years old hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).


METHODS
A retrospective cohort analysis was performed for adult patients hospitalized with CAP in a 1000-bed teaching hospital between Jan 2002 and Jan 2006. Differences between < or = 65 yrs and > 65 yrs groups were calculated using chi(2) test.


RESULTS
A total of 302 patients (166 males), with a mean age of (68 +/- 21) yrs, were enrolled. Of the 216 elderly patients, 67.1% had comorbid conditions, mostly cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive lung disease. For the risk stratification, 175 patients were classified as IV - V according to Fine's index. The mean hospital stay was 12 days and in-hospital mortality was 12.0%. The most frequent pathogen was Streptococcus pneumoniae in elderly patients. As compared to 86 younger patients (< or = 65yrs), altered mental status, dyspnea, tachypnea and tachycardia on hospital admission were more frequent in the elderly. The etiological distribution was also different between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
CAP in elderly patients is a prevalent disease with high incidence of complications and mortality. More attention should be paid to the specific clinical manifestations of this patient population.
Liu
Hui
H
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510630, China.
Zhang
Tian-tuo
TT
Wu
Ben-quan
BQ
Huang
Jing
J
Zhou
Yu-qi
YQ
Zhu
Jia-xin
JX
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies