Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia Called More Deadly

ROME, Jan. 5 -- Pneumonia linked to healthcare contacts tends to be more complicated and more lethal than if it is acquired in the community, researchers here said.

Patients who developed pneumonia following contact with the healthcare system -- but not considered hospital-acquired -- had a mortality rate of 17.8% (95% CI 10.5% to 24.9%), compared with 6.7% (95% CI 2.9% to 10.5%) among patients with community-acquired pneumonia, reported Mario Venditti, M.D., of the University of Rome, and colleagues.

In their multicenter study of 362 pneumonia cases, healthcare-associated pneumonia was more likely to have bilateral involvement (34.4% versus 19.7% of community-acquired cases, P<0.05). Dr. Venditti and colleagues said in the Jan. 6 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

Healthcare-associated pneumonia was also associated with longer hospitalization (mean 18.7 days versus 14.7 days, P<0.05). More.