Post Discharge Short Term Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia

Özet

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in developed countries, especially in the elderly and adults. Thus, the relationship between CAP and short and long-term mortality in patients is critical. A better understanding of CAP related mortality factors can enable us to make inferences for patient care. In this study, we aimed to determine the short-term (1 month) mortality rate for CAP after hospitalization and to find the risk factors associated with mortality. Methods: Hospitalized patients with CAP were classified into two groups as follows: patients who died within 1-month after hospital discharge and patients who survived in the same period. All patients’ data recorded in a computer-assisted protocol. Data were collected on demographic characteristics, comorbidities, causative organisms, laboratory findings, and survival situations. Results: The findings showed that 489 non-immunosuppressed adults with CAP were hospitalized. 11.4% patients died 1-month after the hospitalization. The frequency of male sex and current smokers were similar between the groups. How- ever, patients who died in 1-month after hospital discharge were older. Regarding comorbidities, patients who died within 1-month after hospital discharge more often had chronic renal disease; other comorbidities were more seen in alive patients. Patients who died within 1-month after hospital discharge more often had higher WBC, Neutrophil, Procalcitonin, BUN, AST, PaCO2 value, and lower lymphocyte, Hct, Hb, protein, albumin value than who survived. Length of hospital stay was longer in survived patients than died patients. Discussion and Conclusion: The findings obtained in this study suggest that mortality of in-patients with CAP is remarkably high. Although we could not show any significant independent risk factor for mortality, we can say that some laboratory parameters and some comorbid conditions may affect the mortality rate. Our findings may help to understand the relation- ship between CAP and mortality, and designing optimal management of comorbidities in this population after discharge.