title: Clinical features and outcomes of aspiration pneumonia and non-aspiration pneumonia in octogenarians and nonagenarians admitted in a General Internal Medicine Unit.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pneumonia is a common infectious disease and causes significant morbidity and mortality especially in elderly people. Aspiration as a cause of pneumonia is common in this population. The aim of our study was to describe the clinical features and outcomes of very old patients with aspiration pneumonia (AP) and comparing them with patients with non-AP.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective cohort study, we analyzed old patients (≥80 years-old) with pneumonia admitted 2014 in the Department of General Internal Medicine.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-six old patients with pneumonia were included in the study, and 46 (60.5%) met criteria of AP. Increasing levels of urea, creatinine and sodium and low estimated glomerular filtrate rate were more common among AP patients. In addition, severity of pneumonia scored by pneumonia severity index and CURB-65 score were significantly greater in AP than in non-AP patients. The 30-days mortality in AP was (44%) quite higher than in non-AP (32%). The only predictor of mortality was high level of sodium (odds ratio: 1.09; 95% confidence intervals: 1.00-1.18).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AP in octogenarian and nonagenarians showed higher levels of sodium and low estimated glomerular filtrate rate and higher severity of pneumonia and slightly higher mortality than non-AP.
authors.forename: Héctor
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pinargote
authors.affiliation: José M. Ramos, Servicio de Medicina Interna. Hospital General Universitario de Alicante. C/ Pintor Baeza, 12, 03010 Alicante, Spain. jramosrincon@yahoo.es.
authors.forename: Jose Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zurita
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Portilla
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006748:Hospital Departments; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome