Do Patients with Cellulitis Need to be Hospitalized? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Mortality Rates of Inpatients with Cellulitis

BACKGROUND

Cellulitis is a common cause of hospitalization. In the USA, the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code "other cellulitis and abscess" accounts for 1.4% of all admissions and $5.5 billion in annual costs. The Infectious Disease Society of America recommends hospitalization for patients with cellulitis under certain circumstances but there is little actual clinical evidence to guide the decision to admit. The purpose of this study is to determine the mortality rate of patients hospitalized with cellulitis and to ascertain if the rate is comparable to the rate for low risk patients with community acquired pneumonia that are currently recommended for outpatient management.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted for studies of consecutive patients hospitalized with cellulitis or erysipelas that reported inpatient mortality. Study quality was assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The mortality rates from the included studies were pooled using a random effects model. Heterogeneity was estimated using the I² statistic.

RESULTS

Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria. The overall worldwide mortality rate was 1.1% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.7-1.8). For studies from the USA, the rate was 0.5% (95% CI 0.3-0.9). The actual cause of death was generally poorly described, and only one third of deaths appeared to be due to infection.

DISCUSSION

The estimated mortality rate for patients currently being hospitalized for cellulitis is comparable to the mortality rate of patients with community-acquired pneumonia that are recommended for outpatient management by the Pneumonia Severity Index and CURB65 prediction models and strongly endorsed by major infectious disease societies. Outpatient management of these patients could result in large cost savings and may be much preferred by patients.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Predominantly Leuco- and Thrombocytopenic Haematologic/Oncologic Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - a Single-Centre Experience

AIMS

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent condition following pneumonia in immunocompromised cancer patients. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may serve as a rescue therapy in refractory ARDS but has still not been studied in predominantly leuco- and thrombocytopenic cancer patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this monocentric, retrospective, observational study, we assessed all cancer patients treated with ECMO for ARDS between 2013 and 2017.

RESULTS

25 patients, 11 of whom underwent haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT), were analysed. The main reason for ARDS was pneumonia in 72%. All patients were under invasive ventilation at ECMO. All but 9/3 patients suffered from leuco-/thrombocytopenia due to anti-cancer treatment or underlying disease. Overall, 17 patients (68%) died on ECMO, whereas 5 patients survived to hospital discharge (20%). All patients after recent allogeneic (allo-)SCT have died. 4 patients experienced severe bleeding events.

CONCLUSIONS

Discouraging survival rates in patients treated after allo-SCT do not support the use of ECMO for ARDS in this patient subgroup. On the contrary, cancer patients in at least stable disease otherwise eligible for full-code intensive care unit management, even those with severe thrombocytopenia, may be potential candidates for ECMO in case of severe ARDS failing conventional measures.

Antibiotic treatment outcomes in community-acquired pneumonia

Background/aim

The optimal empiric antibiotic regimen for patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical cure rate, mortality, and length of stay among patients hospitalized with community- acquired pneumonia in nonintensive care unit (ICU) wards and treated with a β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, or a fluoroquinolone.

Materials and methods

This prospective cohort study was performed using standardized web-based database sheets from January 2009 to September 2013 in nine tertiary care hospitals in Turkey.

Results

Six hundred and twenty-one consecutive patients were enrolled. A pathogen was identified in 78 (12.6%) patients. The most frequently isolated bacteria were S. pneumoniae (21.8%) and P. aeruginosa (19.2%). The clinical cure rate and length of stay were not different among patients treated with β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, and fluoroquinolone. Forty-seven patients (9.2%) died during the hospitalization period. There was no difference in survival among the three treatment groups.

Conclusion

In patients admitted to non-ICU hospital wards for CAP, there was no difference in clinical outcomes between β-lactam, β-lactam and macrolide combination, and fluoroquinolone regimens.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of pneumonia in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis

Background

To elucidate the characteristics of pneumonia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to assess whether pneumonia in RA patients differs from that in non-RA patients.

Methods

We retrospectively divided pneumonia patients into two groups, those with RA and those without RA, and compared the two groups. We evaluated the risk factors for mortality with univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Among 1549 patients, 71 had RA. The RA patients with pneumonia were 71.0±8.9 years old, 54.9% were female, 40.9% had a smoking history, and 71.8% had underlying respiratory disease. Female sex, non-smoker, and respiratory comorbidities were statistically more frequent in the RA patients than non-RA patients. The most frequent causative microbial agents of pneumonia in the RA patients were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and influenza virus, whereas those of pneumonia in non-RA patients were S. pneumoniae, influenza virus, M. pneumoniae, Legionella spp., P. aeruginosa, H. influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Polymicrobial infection were identified as etiologies more frequently in the RA patients than non-RA patients. Although the severity of pneumonia did not differ between the two groups, mortality was statistically higher in the RA patients than non-RA patients. Multivariate analysis showed RA to be an independent risk factor for mortality.

Conclusions

P. aeruginosa, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis, and polymicrobial infection were statistically more frequent etiologies of pneumonia in the RA patients than non-RA patients. RA itself was found to be an independent risk factor for mortality from pneumonia.

Utility of state-level influenza disease burden and severity estimates to investigate an apparent increase in reported severe cases of influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 - Arizona, 2015-2016

The Arizona Department of Health Services identified unusually high levels of influenza activity and severe complications during the 2015-2016 influenza season leading to concerns about potential increased disease severity compared with prior seasons. We estimated state-level burden and severity to compare across three seasons using multiple data sources for community-level illness, hospitalisation and death. Severity ratios were calculated as the number of hospitalisations or deaths per community case. Community influenza-like illness rates, hospitalisation rates and mortality rates in 2015-2016 were higher than the previous two seasons. However, ratios of severe disease to community illness were similar. Arizona experienced overall increased disease burden in 2015-2016, but not increased severity compared with prior seasons. Timely estimates of state-specific burden and severity are potentially feasible and may provide important information during seemingly unusual influenza seasons or pandemic situations.

Hyponatraemia is independently associated with in-hospital mortality in patients with pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Hyponatraemia on hospital admission has been shown to be a risk factor for illness severity in critically ill patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether hyponatraemia on emergency department (ED) admission independently influences in-hospital mortality, ICU admission, and/or length of hospitalisation in patients with pneumonia.

METHODS

610 patients (64.4% male, median 66 years) diagnosed with pneumonia were identified by retrospective screening of electronic admission data (06/2011-06/2013). Patients were admitted to the ED of Bern University Hospital, Switzerland. Patient characteristics, potential confounders, and patient-centred clinical outcomes, including mortality, ICU admission, and length of hospitalisation, were analysed. Multivariate logistic analysis adjusted for typical confounders was performed to analyse the association of hyponatraemia with clinical outcomes.

RESULTS

In a large cohort of consecutive acutely admitted patients with pneumonia, the overall in-hospital mortality rate was 12.5%; 21.2% of patients required primary or secondary ICU admission, and the median length of hospital stay was 8 (IQR 5-13) days. At baseline, 47 patients (7.7%) were found to have concomitant hyponatraemia. Multivariate regression revealed a significant association between hyponatraemia and in-hospital mortality (adjusted OR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.3-5.9, p = 0.010), but not with ICU admission (adjusted OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 0.9-3.6, p = 0.103) or length of hospitalisation (p = 0.493) after adjustment for age, neoplasia, COPD, suspected sepsis, and cardiac disease. The association was robust if controlled for other covariates, e.g. CRB-65 score.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyponatraemia on admission predicts poor outcome and is an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in admitted patients diagnosed with pneumonia.

Disability, and not diabetes, is a strong predictor of mortality in oldest old patients hospitalized with pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia causes more deaths than any other infectious disease, especially in older patients with multiple chronic diseases. Recent studies identified a low functional status as prognostic factor for mortality in elderly patients with pneumonia while contrasting data are available about the role of diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in-hospital, 3-month and 1-year mortality in elderly subjects affected by pneumonia enrolled in the RePoSi register.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the data collected on hospitalized elderly patients in the frame of the REPOSI project. We analyzed the socio-demographic, laboratory and clinical characteristics of subjects with pneumonia. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to explore the relationship between variables and mortality.

RESULTS

Among 4714 patients 284 had pneumonia. 52.8% were males and the mean age was 80 years old. 19.8% of these patients had a Barthel Index ≤40 (p ˂ 0.0001), as well as 43.2% had a short blessed test ≥10 (p ˂ 0.0117). In these subjects a significant CIRS for the evaluation of severity and comorbidity indexes (p ˂ 0.0001) were present. Although a higher fasting glucose level was identified in people with pneumonia, in the multivariate logistic analysis diabetes was not independently associated with in-hospital, 3-month and 1-year mortality, whereas patients with lower Barthel Index had a higher mortality risk (odds ratio being 9.45, 6.84, 19.55 in hospital, at 3 and 12 months).

CONCLUSION

Elderly hospitalized patients affected by pneumonia with a clinically significant disability had a higher mortality risk while diabetes does not represent an important determinant of short and long-term outcome.

National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Pneumonia Inpatient Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits

This report demonstrates the use of the National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS) for the study of pneumonia inpatient hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits. The analysis is based on unweighted data of inpatient and ED encounters from the 2014 NHCS and is intended to illustrate the capabilities of the survey, including the ability to link inpatient hospitalizations or ED visits across settings and with other data sources, once hospital participation allows for nationally representative estimates.

Combined vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine therapy for patients with severe pneumonia who were admitted to the intensive care unit: Propensity score-based analysis of a before-after cohort study

PURPOSE

To evaluate the efficacy of combined vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine in patients with severe pneumonia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All consecutive patients with severe pneumonia who were treated with the vitamin C protocol (6 g of vitamin C per day) in June 2017-January 2018 (n = 53) were compared to all consecutive patients with severe pneumonia who were treated in June 2016-January 2017 (n = 46). Propensity score analysis was used to adjust for potential baseline differences between the groups.

RESULTS

In the propensity-matched cohort (n = 36/group), the treated patients had significantly less hospital mortality than the control group (17% vs. 39%; P = 0.04). The vitamin C protocol associated independently with decreased mortality in propensity score-adjusted analysis (adjusted odds ratio = 0.15, 95% confidence interval = 0.04-0.56, P = 0.005). Relative to the control group, the treatment group had a significantly higher median improvement in the radiologic score at day 7 compared with baseline (4 vs. 2; P = 0.045). The vitamin C protocol did not increase the rates of acute kidney injury or superinfection.

CONCLUSIONS

Combined vitamin C, hydrocortisone, and thiamine therapy may benefit patients with severe pneumonia.

Association of the Paediatric Admission Quality of Care score with mortality in Kenyan hospitals: a validation study

Background

Measuring the quality of hospital admission care is essential to ensure that standards of practice are met and continuously improved to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the illnesses most responsible for inpatient deaths. The Paediatric Admission Quality of Care (PAQC) score is a tool for measuring adherence to guidelines for children admitted with acute illnesses in a low-income setting. We aimed to explore the external and criterion-related validity of the PAQC score by investigating its association with mortality using data drawn from a diverse sample of Kenyan hospitals.

Methods

We identified children admitted to Kenyan hospitals for treatment of malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, or dehydration from datasets from three sources: an observational study, a clinical trial, and a national cross-sectional survey. We extracted variables describing the process of care provided to patients at admission and their eventual outcomes from these data. We applied the PAQC scoring algorithm to the data to obtain a quality-of-care score for each child. We assessed external validity of the PAQC score by its systematic replication in datasets that had not been previously used to investigate properties of the PAQC score. We assessed criterion-related validity by using hierarchical logistic regression to estimate the association between PAQC score and the outcome of mortality, adjusting for other factors thought to be predictive of the outcome or responsible for heterogeneity in quality of care.

Findings

We found 19 065 eligible admissions in the three validation datasets that covered 27 hospitals, of which 12 969 (68%) were complete cases. Greater guideline adherence, corresponding to higher PAQC scores, was associated with a reduction in odds of death across the three datasets, ranging between 9% (odds ratio 0·91, 95% CI 0·84–0·99; p=0·031) and 30% (0·70, 0·63–0·78; p<0·0001) adjusted reduction per unit increase in the PAQC score, with a pooled estimate of 17% (0·83, 0·78–0·89; p<0·0001). These findings were consistent with a multiple imputation analysis that used information from all observations in the combined dataset.

Interpretation

The PAQC score, designed as an index of the technical quality of care for the three commonest causes of admission in children, is also associated with mortality. This finding suggests that it could be a meaningful summary measure of the quality of care for common inpatient conditions and supports a link between process quality and outcome. It might have potential for application in low-income countries with similar disease profiles and in which paediatric practice recommendations are based on WHO guidelines.

Funding

The Wellcome Trust.

Performance status and in-hospital mortality of elderly patients with community acquired pneumonia

To evaluate the role of performance status evaluated by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score in predicting 30-day mortality in subjects hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia (CAP), this was a prospective study of patients consecutively hospitalized for CAP at a large University Hospital in Italy. Performance status was evaluated using the ECOG score that in a 0-5 point scale indicates progressive functional deterioration. The end-point of the study is the 30-day mortality. Two-hundred-sixteen patients were enrolled, 75.9% were aged > 70 years, 31.5% had severe pneumonia at CURB-65 score (3-4), and 27.5% of patients had severe disability (ECOG 3-4). Thirty-day mortality is 15.3%. Progression in ECOG score independently increases the probability of 30-day mortality at multivariable logistic regression analysis (HR 2.19, 95% CI 1.60-3.01, p < 0.0001). ECOG 3 or 4 determines a four-fold increase in 30-day mortality (HR 4.07, 95% CI 1.84-9.02, p < 0.001). ECOG score 3 or 4 is highly predictive of death in patients classified at low risk of mortality by CURB-65 (0-2 points) score. Functional status is directly related to outcome in elderly patients hospitalized for CAP. The use of a very simple and fast tool, such as the ECOG score, might help to better stratify the risk of short-term mortality, especially in patients otherwise classified at low risk of death by CURB-65 score.

Low serum zinc level: The relationship with severe pneumonia and survival in critically ill children

BACKGROUND

Zinc deficiency is common among children in developing countries; but, there is still conflicting evidence on whether the alteration in zinc metabolism is the predictive of disease severity in the setting of critical illness.

OBJECTIVES

To assess serum zinc levels in children admitted with pneumonia, and also to study the relationship between zinc levels and severity and mortality from pneumonia.

METHODS

In a prospective cohort study, we enrolled 320 critically ill children admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with severe pneumonia (group 1) in addition to 160 children admitted into wards with pneumonia (group 2). Serum zinc measured in all patients on admission.

RESULTS

Serum zinc level was significantly lower among patients admitted to PICU (group 1) compared with patients admitted to wards (group 2) (P < .001). There was a highly statistically significant decrease in zinc level in critically ill children complicated by sepsis, mechanically ventilated cases and those who died. Regarding the diagnosis of sepsis, zinc had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81 while C-reactive protein (CRP) had an AUC of 0.83. Regarding the prognosis, zinc had an AUC of 0.649 for prediction of mortality, whereas the AUC for Pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM), Pediatric index of mortality2 (PIM2) and CRP were 0.83, 0.82 and 0.78, respectively. The combined zinc with PRISM and PIM2 has increased the sensitivity of zinc for mortality from 86.5% to 94.9%.

CONCLUSION

Zinc has both a diagnostic and a prognostic value for children with pneumonia.

Current Status of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

OBJECTIVE

Worldwide, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common infection that occurs in older adults, who may have pulmonary comorbidities, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although there have been clinical studies on the coexistence of CAP with COPD, there remain some controversial findings. This review presents the current status of COPD in CAP patients, including the disease burden, clinical characteristics, risk factors, microbial etiology, and antibiotic treatment.

DATA SOURCES

A literature review included full peer-reviewed publications up to January 2018 derived from the PubMed database, using the keywords "community-acquired pneumonia" and "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".

STUDY SELECTION

Papers in English were reviewed, with no restriction on study design.

RESULTS

COPD patients who are treated with inhaled corticosteroids are at an increased risk of CAP and have a worse prognosis, but data regarding the increased mortality remains unclear. Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is still regarded as the most common bacteria isolated from patients with CAP and COPD, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also important, and physicians should pay close attention to the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, particularly in these two organisms.

CONCLUSIONS

COPD is a common and important predisposing comorbidity in patients who develop CAP. COPD often aggravates the clinical symptoms of patients with CAP, complicating treatment, but generally does not appear to affect prognosis.

Poverty as an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality in community-acquired pneumonia: A study in a developing country population

BACKGROUND

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most severe lower respiratory tract infections with a high in-hospital mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic and medical risk factors affecting the prognosis of acute pneumonia. The results of this study can mention the value of socioeconomic backgrounds like poverty and illiteracy in clinical practice, even in a well-known biological phenomenon (eg acute pneumonia).

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, all admitted patients to a tertiary teaching hospital with a diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia in a 12-month period were enrolled. Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, underlying conditions, clinical manifestations and para-clinical test results at admission registered prospectively. A logistic regression model was conducted using in-hospital mortality as the dependent variable.

RESULTS

A total of 621 patients was included in this study. Among them, 47 patients (7.6%) died during the hospitalisation period. In multiple logistic regression analysis, pleural effusion, a higher CURB-65 score, hyponatremia, hyperglycaemia and poverty (being in the lower economic class) were identified as independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in community-acquired pneumonia.

CONCLUSION

Numerous factors can influence the prognosis of CAP. In addition to the CURB-65 score and some other medical risk factors, socioeconomic backgrounds can also affect the early outcome in CAP. In this study, being in the lower economic class (as an indicator of poverty) is interpreted as an independent risk factor for a poor prognosis in CAP.

Climate change, heat, and mortality in the tropical urban area of San Juan, Puerto Rico

Extreme heat episodes are becoming more common worldwide, including in tropical areas of Australia, India, and Puerto Rico. Higher frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat episodes are triggering public health issues in most mid-latitude and continental cities. With urbanization, land use and land cover have affected local climate directly and indirectly encouraging the Urban Heat Island effect with potential impacts on heat-related morbidity and mortality among urban populations. However, this association is not completely understood in tropical islands such as Puerto Rico. The present study examines the effects of heat in two municipalities (San Juan and Bayamón) within the San Juan metropolitan area on overall and cause-specific mortality among the population between 2009 and 2013. The number of daily deaths attributed to selected causes (cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, pneumonia, and kidney disease) coded and classified according to the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases was analyzed. The relations between elevated air surface temperatures on cause-specific mortality were modeled. Separate Poisson regression models were fitted to explain the total number of deaths as a function of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, while adjusting for seasonal patterns. Results show a significant increase in the effect of high temperatures on mortality, during the summers of 2012 and 2013. Stroke (relative risk = 16.80, 95% CI 6.81-41.4) and cardiovascular diseases (relative risk = 16.63, 95% CI 10.47-26.42) were the primary causes of death most associated with elevated summer temperatures. Better understanding of how these heat events affect the health of the population will provide a useful tool for decision makers to address and mitigate the effects of the increasing temperatures on public health. The enhanced temperature forecast may be a crucial component in decision making during the National Weather Service Heat Watches, Advisories, and Warning process.

Mortality from infectious diseases in diabetes

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

To investigate the risk of mortality from infections by comparing the underlying causes of death versus the multiple causes of death in known diabetic subjects living in the Veneto region of Northern Italy.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 185,341 subjects with diabetes aged 30-89 years were identified in the year 2010, and causes of death were assessed from 2010 to 2015. Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed with regional mortality rates as reference. The underlying causes of death and all the diseases reported in the death certificates were scrutinized. At the end of the follow-up, 36,382 subjects had deceased. We observed an increased risk of death from infection-related causes in subjects with diabetes with a SMR of 1.83 (95% CI, 1.71-1.94). The SMR for death from septicemia was 1.91 (95% CI, 1.76-2.06) and from pneumonia was 1.47 (95% CI, 1.36-1.59). The use of the multiple causes of death approach emphasized the association of infectious diseases with mortality.

CONCLUSION

The results of the present study demonstrate an excess mortality due to infection-related diseases in patients with diabetes; more interestingly, by routine mortality analyses, the results show a possible underestimation of the effect of these diseases on mortality.

Mortality and morbidity in acutely ill adults treated with liberal versus conservative oxygen therapy (IOTA): a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Supplemental oxygen is often administered liberally to acutely ill adults, but the credibility of the evidence for this practice is unclear. We systematically reviewed the efficacy and safety of liberal versus conservative oxygen therapy in acutely ill adults.

METHODS

In the Improving Oxygen Therapy in Acute-illness (IOTA) systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase, HealthSTAR, LILACS, PapersFirst, and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry from inception to Oct 25, 2017, for randomised controlled trials comparing liberal and conservative oxygen therapy in acutely ill adults (aged ≥18 years). Studies limited to patients with chronic respiratory diseases or psychiatric disease, patients on extracorporeal life support, or patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy or elective surgery were excluded. We screened studies and extracted summary estimates independently and in duplicate. We also extracted individual patient-level data from survival curves. The main outcomes were mortality (in-hospital, at 30 days, and at longest follow-up) and morbidity (disability at longest follow-up, risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia, any hospital-acquired infection, and length of hospital stay) assessed by random-effects meta-analyses. We assessed quality of evidence using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation approach. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42017065697.

FINDINGS

25 randomised controlled trials enrolled 16 037 patients with sepsis, critical illness, stroke, trauma, myocardial infarction, or cardiac arrest, and patients who had emergency surgery. Compared with a conservative oxygen strategy, a liberal oxygen strategy (median baseline saturation of peripheral oxygen [SpO₂] across trials, 96% [range 94-99%, IQR 96-98]) increased mortality in-hospital (relative risk [RR] 1·21, 95% CI 1·03-1·43, I²=0%, high quality), at 30 days (RR 1·14, 95% CI 1·01-1·29, I²=0%, high quality), and at longest follow-up (RR 1·10, 95% CI 1·00-1·20, I²=0%, high quality). Morbidity outcomes were similar between groups. Findings were robust to trial sequential, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses.

INTERPRETATION

In acutely ill adults, high-quality evidence shows that liberal oxygen therapy increases mortality without improving other patient-important outcomes. Supplemental oxygen might become unfavourable above an SpO₂ range of 94-96%. These results support the conservative administration of oxygen therapy.

FUNDING

None.

Effects of age, comorbidity and adherence to current antimicrobial guidelines on mortality in hospitalized elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Limited information exists on the clinical characteristics predictive of mortality in patients aged ≥65 years in many countries. The impact of adherence to current antimicrobial guidelines on the mortality of hospitalized elderly patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has never been assessed.

METHODS

A total of 3131 patients aged ≥65 years were enrolled from a multi-center, retrospective, observational study initiated by the CAP-China network. Risk factors for death were screened with multivariable logistic regression analysis, with emphasis on the evaluation of age, comorbidities and antimicrobial treatment regimen with regard to the current Chinese CAP guidelines.

RESULTS

The mean age of the study population was 77.4 ± 7.4 years. Overall in-hospital and 60-day mortality were 5.7% and 7.6%, respectively; these rates were three-fold higher in those aged ≥85 years than in the 65-74 group (11.9% versus 3.2% for in-hospital mortality and 14.1% versus 4.7% for 60-day mortality, respectively). The mortality was significantly higher among patients with comorbidities compared with those who were otherwise healthy. According to the 2016 Chinese CAP guidelines, 62.1% of patients (1907/3073) received non-adherent treatment. For general-ward patients without risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection (n = 2258), 52.3% (1094/2090) were over-treated, characterized by monotherapy with an anti-pseudomonal β-lactam or combination with fluoroquinolone + β-lactam; while 71.4% of intensive care unit (ICU) patients (120/168) were undertreated, without coverage of atypical bacteria. Among patients with risk factors for PA infection (n = 815), 22.9% (165/722) of those in the general ward and 74.2% of those in the ICU (69/93) were undertreated, using regimens without anti-pseudomonal activity. The independent predictors of 60-day mortality were age, long-term bedridden status, congestive heart failure, CURB-65, glucose, heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and albumin levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Overtreatment in general-ward patients and undertreatment in ICU patients were critical problems. Compliance with Chinese guidelines will require fundamental changes in standard-of-care treatment patterns. The data included herein may facilitate early identification of patients at increased risk of mortality.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT02489578 ).

Full blood count values as a predictor of poor outcome of pneumonia among HIV-infected patients

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the predictive value of analytical markers of full blood count that can be assessed in the emergency department for HIV infected patients, with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

METHODS

Prospective 3-year study including all HIV-infected patients that went to our emergency department with respiratory clinical infection, more than 24-h earlier they were diagnosed with CAP and required admission. We assessed the different values of the first blood count performed on the patient as follows; total white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, lymphocytes (LYM), basophils, eosinophils (EOS), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width (RDW), platelets (PLT), mean platelet volume, and platelet distribution width (PDW). The primary outcome measure was 30-day mortality and the secondary, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). The predictive power of the variables was determined by statistical calculation.

RESULTS

One hundred sixty HIV-infected patients with pneumonia were identified. The mean age was 42 (11) years, 99 (62%) were male, 79 (49%) had ART. The main route of HIV transmission was through parenteral administration of drugs. Streptococcus pneumonia was the most frequently identified etiologic agent of CAP The univariate analysis showed that the values of PLT (p < 0.009), EOS (p < 0.033), RDW (p < 0.033) and PDW (p < 0.09) were predictor of mortality, but after the logistic regression analysis, no variable was shown as an independent predictor of mortality. On the other hand, higher RDW (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.4, p = 0.013) and a lower number of LYM (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-2.2; p = 0.035) were revealed as independent predictors of admission to ICU.

CONCLUSION

Red blood cell distribution and lymphocytes were the most useful predictors of disease severity identifying HIV infected patients with CAP who required ICU admission.

Tooth loss and pneumonia mortality: A cohort study of Japanese dentists

Although associations between oral health and pneumonia have been reported in previous studies, particularly in the institutionalized elderly, few prospective studies have investigated the association between oral condition and pneumonia among community-dwelling people and whether the findings among inpatients or patients in nursing homes are applicable to the general population is still unclear. The oral bacteria propagated in the periodontal regions may drop into the lung and increase the risk of pneumonia. We, therefore, investigated the association of tooth loss with mortality from pneumonia in a cohort study of Japanese dentists. Members of the Japan Dental Association (JDA) participated in the LEMONADE (Longitudinal Evaluation of Multi-phasic, Odontological and Nutritional Associations in Dentists) Study. From 2001 to 2006, they completed a baseline questionnaire on lifestyle and health factors including the number of teeth lost (excluding third molars). We followed 19,775 participants (mean age ± standard deviation, 51.4 ± 11.7 years; 1,573 women [8.0%] and 18,202 men [92.0%]) for mortality from pneumonia (ICD-10, J12-J18). Mortality data were collected via the fraternal insurance program of the JDA. The hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated with adjustment for sex, age, body mass index, smoking status, physical activity and diabetes history. During the median follow-up period of 9.5 years, we documented 68 deaths from pneumonia. Participants who were edentulous at baseline were at significantly increased risk of mortality from pneumonia. The multivariable-adjusted HRs were 2.07 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-3.95) for the edentulous and 1.60 (95% CI, 0.83-3.10) for loss of 15-27 teeth relative to loss of 0-14 teeth (trend p = 0.026). The HR per one tooth loss was also significant; 1.031 (95% CI, 1.004-1.060). In conclusion, a large number of teeth lost may indicate an increased risk of mortality from pneumonia in community-dwelling populations.

Is the weekend effect really ubiquitous? A retrospective clinical cohort analysis of 30-day mortality by day of week and time of day using linked population data from New South Wales, Australia

OBJECTIVE

To examine the associations between day of week and time of admission and 30-day mortality for six clinical conditions: ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.

DESIGN

Retrospective population-based cohort analyses. Hospitalisation records were linked to emergency department and deaths data. Random-effect logistic regression models were used, adjusting for casemix and taking into account clustering within hospitals.

SETTING

All hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, from July 2009 to June 2012.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis for one of the six clinical conditions examined.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Adjusted ORs for all-cause mortality within 30 days of admission, by day of week and time of day.

RESULTS

A total of 148 722 patients were included in the study, with 17 721 deaths within 30 days of admission. Day of week of admission was not associated with significantly higher likelihood of death for five of the six conditions after adjusting for casemix. There was significant variation in mortality for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by day of week; however, this was not consistent with a strict weekend effect (Thursday: OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.48; Friday: OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.44; Saturday: OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.37; Sunday OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.22; compared with Monday). There was evidence for a night effect for patients admitted for stroke (ischaemic: OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.45; haemorrhagic: OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.78).

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality outcomes for these conditions, adjusted for casemix, do not vary in accordance with the weekend effect hypothesis. Our findings support a growing body of evidence that questions the ubiquity of the weekend effect.

Effects of influenza immunization on pneumonia in the elderly

Influenza virus is a common pathogen implicated in respiratory tract infections, annually affecting up to 20% of the general population, and pneumonia is a leading cause of death after influenza infection. Post-influenza pneumonia is especially common in the elderly and chronically ill patients. The risk of post-influenza pneumonia is significantly increased according to the number of concurrent comorbidities. Vaccination is the primary measure used to abate influenza epidemics and associated complications. In meta-analyses, influenza vaccine significantly reduces pneumonia- and influenza-related hospitalizations, with a vaccine effectiveness of 25-53%. However, considering the poor effectiveness of conventional influenza vaccines in the elderly, several highly immunogenic influenza vaccines have been developed. Further evaluations of the comparative effectiveness of diverse vaccine formulations are warranted to assess their utility for preventing influenza infection, post-influenza pneumonia, and related hospitalization/mortality. Based on cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis, influenza vaccination strategies should be tailored in the elderly.

Role of heme in lung bacterial infection after trauma hemorrhage and stored red blood cell transfusion: A preclinical experimental study

BACKGROUND

Trauma is the leading cause of death and disability in patients aged 1-46 y. Severely injured patients experience considerable blood loss and hemorrhagic shock requiring treatment with massive transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs). Preclinical and retrospective human studies in trauma patients have suggested that poorer therapeutic efficacy, increased severity of organ injury, and increased bacterial infection are associated with transfusion of large volumes of stored RBCs, although the mechanisms are not fully understood.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

We developed a murine model of trauma hemorrhage (TH) followed by resuscitation with plasma and leukoreduced RBCs (in a 1:1 ratio) that were banked for 0 (fresh) or 14 (stored) days. Two days later, lungs were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa K-strain (PAK). Resuscitation with stored RBCs significantly increased the severity of lung injury caused by P. aeruginosa, as demonstrated by higher mortality (median survival 35 h for fresh RBC group and 8 h for stored RBC group; p < 0.001), increased pulmonary edema (mean [95% CI] 106.4 μl [88.5-124.3] for fresh RBCs and 192.5 μl [140.9-244.0] for stored RBCs; p = 0.003), and higher bacterial numbers in the lung (mean [95% CI] 1.2 × 10(7) [-1.0 × 10(7) to 2.5 × 10(7)] for fresh RBCs and 3.6 × 10(7) [2.5 × 10(7) to 4.7 × 10(7)] for stored RBCs; p = 0.014). The mechanism underlying this increased infection susceptibility and severity was free-heme-dependent, as recombinant hemopexin or pharmacological inhibition or genetic deletion of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) during TH and resuscitation completely prevented P. aeruginosa-induced mortality after stored RBC transfusion (p < 0.001 for all groups relative to stored RBC group). Evidence from studies transfusing fresh and stored RBCs mixed with stored and fresh RBC supernatants, respectively, indicated that heme arising both during storage and from RBC hemolysis post-resuscitation plays a role in increased mortality after PAK (p < 0.001). Heme also increased endothelial permeability and inhibited macrophage-dependent phagocytosis in cultured cells. Stored RBCs also increased circulating high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1; mean [95% CI] 15.4 ng/ml [6.7-24.0] for fresh RBCs and 50.3 ng/ml [12.3-88.2] for stored RBCs), and anti-HMGB1 blocking antibody protected against PAK-induced mortality in vivo (p = 0.001) and restored macrophage-dependent phagocytosis of P. aeruginosa in vitro. Finally, we showed that TH patients, admitted to the University of Alabama at Birmingham ER between 1 January 2015 and 30 April 2016 (n = 50), received high micromolar-millimolar levels of heme proportional to the number of units transfused, sufficient to overwhelm endogenous hemopexin levels early after TH and resuscitation. Limitations of the study include lack of assessment of temporal changes in different products of hemolysis after resuscitation and the small sample size precluding testing of associations between heme levels and adverse outcomes in resuscitated TH patients.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide evidence that large volume resuscitation with stored blood, compared to fresh blood, in mice increases mortality from subsequent pneumonia, which occurs via mechanisms sensitive to hemopexin and TLR4 and HMGB1 inhibition.

Early Rehabilitation and In-Hospital Mortality in Intensive Care Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Community-acquired pneumonia is one of the most common infectious diseases and can be fatal. The benefits of early rehabilitation in intensive care units are known, but the association between early rehabilitation and in-hospital mortality of patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to intensive care units has not been studied.

OBJECTIVES

To study the association between early rehabilitation and the in-hospital mortality of patients with community- acquired pneumonia admitted to intensive care units, effects of early rehabilitation on unit and hospital lengths of stay, and total costs of hospitalization.

METHODS

A retrospective observational cohort study using a national inpatient database of patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to intensive care units in acute care hospitals in Japan from July 2011 through March 2014. Propensity score-matching analysis was used to compare outcomes between patients with and without early rehabilitation (within 2 days of admission).

RESULTS

Among 8732 eligible patients, propensity score matching created 972 pairs of patients with and without early rehabilitation. The early rehabilitation group had significantly lower in-hospital mortality than did the group without early rehabilitation (17.9% vs 21.9%, respectively; P = .03). The groups did not differ significantly in intensive care unit or hospital lengths of stay or in total costs of hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONS

Early rehabilitation within 2 days of admission was associated with reduced in-hospital mortality of patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to intensive care units.

Lower hemoglobin transfusion trigger is associated with higher mortality in patients hospitalized with pneumonia

Patients hospitalized with pneumonia may require packed red blood cell (RBC) transfusion during their hospital stay. Patient survival may be associated with the transfusion trigger. These patients may need a higher hemoglobin (Hb) trigger than that suggested by the AABB guidelines (7 g/dL).The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the initial transfusion Hb trigger and in-hospital mortality.A historical cohort study of all patients hospitalized in an internal medicine ward between 2009 and 2014 with pneumonia, who received at least 1 unit of RBC, was evaluated. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality.One hundred males and 77 females with a median age of 80 (interquartile range 71-87) years were included. The median Hb trigger was 8.10 g/dL. Mortality rate was 56% in patients with Hb trigger ≤7 g/dL, 43.8% in Hb trigger 7 to 8 g/dL, and 29.5% in Hb trigger >8 g/dL (P = .045). Patients in the 3 Hb trigger categories did not differ in age, sex, comorbidities, albumin, creatinine, C-reactive protein, white blood cells, and platelet counts. The result of a multivariate analysis showed that only lower Hb trigger (odds ratio [OR]≤ 7vs.>8 = 5.24, OR7-8vs.>8 = 2.13, P = .035) and higher neutrophil count (P = .012) were associated with increased in-hospital mortality.In conclusion, a lower transfusion trigger is associated with increased risk for in-hospital mortality in patients hospitalized with pneumonia requiring RBC transfusion.

Incident diuretic drug use and adverse respiratory events among older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AIMS

Diuretic drugs may theoretically improve respiratory health outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through several possible mechanisms, but they might also lead to respiratory harm. We evaluated the association of incident oral diuretic drug use with respiratory-related morbidity and mortality among older adults with COPD.

METHODS

This was a population-based, retrospective cohort study using health administrative data from Ontario, Canada, for the period 2008-2013. We identified adults aged 66 years and older with nonpalliative COPD using a validated algorithm. Respiratory-related morbidity and mortality were evaluated within 30 days of incident oral diuretic drug use compared to nonuse using Cox proportional hazard regression and applying inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score to minimize confounding.

RESULTS

Out of 99 766 individuals aged 66 years and older with COPD identified, incident diuretic receipt occurred in 51.7%. Relative to controls, incident diuretic users had significantly increased rates for hospitalization for COPD or pneumonia [hazard ratio (HR) 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.40], as well as more emergency room visits for COPD or pneumonia (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.18-1.56), COPD or pneumonia-related mortality (HR 1.41; 95% CI 1.04-1.92) and all-cause mortality (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06-1.35). The increased respiratory-related morbidity and mortality observed were specifically as a result of loop diuretic use.

CONCLUSIONS

Incident diuretic drugs, and more specifically loop diuretics, were associated with increased rates of respiratory-related morbidity and mortality among older adults with nonpalliative COPD. Further studies are needed to determine if this association is causative or due to unresolved confounding.

Antithrombin concentrate use in sepsis-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation: re-evaluation of a 'pendulum effect' drug using a nationwide database

There are four systematic reviews and meta-analyses of trials of antithrombin use for sepsis or critically ill patients published to date with conflicting results. The two studies that showed positive results used data only from septic patients who were also diagnosed with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), whereas the two studies showing negative results included data from all septic and/or critically ill patients in their analyses. We believe that the underlying diseases of the study population must be as homogeneous as possible when evaluating treatment efficacy for sepsis-associated DIC. We published two large-scale antithrombin studies of sepsis-associated DIC using a Japanese nationwide database. The above-mentioned DIC studies reported significant associations between antithrombin use and better 28-day mortality in both populations (DIC-associated with severe pneumonia, n = 9075; and with severe abdominal sepsis, n = 2164). Now is the time to initiate multinational antithrombin trials exclusively among sepsis-associated DIC patients.

Predicting 1-year mortality after hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia

Background

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a major public health problem with high short- and long-term mortality. The main aim of this study was to develop and validate a specific prognostic index for one-year mortality in patients admitted for CAP.

Methods

This was an observational, prospective study of adults aged ≥18 years admitted to Galdakao-Usansolo Hospital (Bizkaia, Spain) from January 2001 to July 2009 with a diagnosis of CAP surviving the first 15 days. The entire cohort was divided into two parts, in order to develop a one-year mortality predictive model in the derivation cohort, before validation using the second cohort.

Results

A total of 2351 patients were included and divided into a derivation and a validation cohort. After deaths within 15 days were excluded, one-year mortality was 10.63%. A predictive model was created in order to predict one-year mortality, with a weighted score that included: aged over 80 years (4 points), congestive heart failure (2 points), dementia (6 points), respiratory rate ≥30 breaths per minute (2 points) and blood urea nitrogen >30 mg/dL (3 points) as predictors of higher risk with C-index of 0.76. This new model showed better predictive ability than current risk scores, PSI, CURB65 and SCAP with C-index of 0.73, 0.69 and 0.70, respectively.

Conclusions

An easy-to-use score, called the one-year CAPSI, may be useful for identifying patients with a high probability of dying after an episode of CAP.

Mortality and quality of death certification in a cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease and matched controls in North Wales, UK at 18 years: a community-based cohort study

OBJECTIVE

This investigation reports the cause and the quality of death certification in a community cohort of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and controls at 18 years.

SETTING

Denbighshire North Wales, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

The community-based cohorts consisted of 166 patients with PD and 102 matched controls.

PRIMARY OUTCOMES

All-cause mortality was ascertained at 18 years by review of hospitals' primary care records and examination of death certificates obtained from the UK General Register Office. Mortality HRs were estimated using Cox proportional regression, controlling for covariates including age at study entry, age at death, gender, motor function, mood, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and cognitive function.

RESULTS

After 18 years, 158 (95%) of patients in the PD cohort and 34 (33%) in the control cohort had died. Compared with the general UK population, the PD cohort had a higher risk of mortality (standard mortality rate, 1.82, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.13). As the primary or underlying cause of death, PD was not reported in 75/158 (47%) of the death certificates. In addition, although 144/158 (91%) of the PD cohort had a diagnosis of dementia, this was reported in less than 10% of death certificates. The main cause of death reported in the PD cohort was pneumonia (53%), followed by cardiac-related deaths (21%). Compared with controls, patients with PD had a greater risk of pneumonia (2.03, 95% CI 1.34 to 3.6), poorer HRQoL and more likely to reside in institutional care at death (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

This investigation found that PD was associated with an excess risk of mortality compared with the general population. However, PD as a primary or underlying cause of death recorded on certificates was found to be suboptimal. This suggests that the quality of mortality statistics drawn from death certificates alone is not a valid or reliable source of data.

Combined use of the multidimensional prognostic index (MPI) and procalcitonin serum levels in predicting 1-month mortality risk in older patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP): a prospective study

BACKGROUND

Several scores and biomarkers, i.e., procalcitonin (PCT), were proposed to stratify the mortality risk in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

AIM

Evaluating prognostic accuracy of PCT and Multidimensional Prognostic Index (MPI) for 1-month mortality risk in older patients with CAP.

METHODS

At hospital admission and at discharge, patients were evaluated by a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to calculate MPI. Serum PCT was measured at admission and 1, 3, and 5 days after hospital admission.

RESULTS

49 patients were enrolled. The overall 1-month mortality was 44.5 for 100-persons year. Mortality rates were higher with the increasing of MPI. In survived patients, MPI at discharge showed higher predictive accuracy than MPI at admission. Adding PCT levels to admission MPI prognostic accuracy for 1-month mortality significantly increased.

CONCLUSION

In older patients with CAP, MPI significantly predicted 1 month mortality. PCT levels significantly improved the accuracy of MPI at admission in predicting 1-month mortality.

The Association Between Major Depressive Disorder and Outcomes in Older Veterans Hospitalized With Pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Major depressive disorder ("depression") has been identified as an independent risk factor for mortality for many comorbid conditions, including heart failure, cancer and stroke. Major depressive disorder has also been linked to immune suppression by generating a chronic inflammatory state. However, the association between major depression and pneumonia has not been examined. The aim of this study was to examine the association between depression and outcomes, including mortality and intensive care unit admission, in Veterans hospitalized with pneumonia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective national study using administrative data of patients hospitalized at any Veterans Administration acute care hospital. We included patients ≥65 years old hospitalized with pneumonia from 2002-2012. Depressed patients were further analyzed based on whether they were receiving medications to treat depression. We used generalized linear mixed effect models to examine the association of depression with the outcomes of interest after controlling for potential confounders.

RESULTS

Patients with depression had a significantly higher 90-day mortality (odds ratio 1.12, 95% confidence interval 1.07-1.17) compared to patients without depression. Patients with untreated depression had a significantly higher 30-day (1.11, 1.04-1.20) and 90-day (1.20, 1.13-1.28) mortality, as well as significantly higher intensive care unit admission rates (1.12, 1.03-1.21), compared to patients with treated depression.

CONCLUSION

For older veterans hospitalized with pneumonia, a concurrent diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and especially untreated depression, was associated with higher mortality. This highlights that untreated major depressive disorder is an independent risk factor for mortality for patients with pneumonia.

Appropriateness of clinical severity classification of new WHO childhood pneumonia guidance: a multi-hospital, retrospective, cohort study

BACKGROUND

Management of pneumonia in many low-income and middle-income countries is based on WHO guidelines that classify children according to clinical signs that define thresholds of risk. We aimed to establish whether some children categorised as eligible for outpatient treatment might have a risk of death warranting their treatment in hospital.

METHODS

We did a retrospective cohort study of children aged 2-59 months admitted to one of 14 hospitals in Kenya with pneumonia between March 1, 2014, and Feb 29, 2016, before revised WHO pneumonia guidelines were adopted in the country. We modelled associations with inpatient mortality using logistic regression and calculated absolute risks of mortality for presenting clinical features among children who would, as part of revised WHO pneumonia guidelines, be eligible for outpatient treatment (non-severe pneumonia).

FINDINGS

We assessed 16 162 children who were admitted to hospital in this period. 832 (5%) of 16 031 children died. Among groups defined according to new WHO guidelines, 321 (3%) of 11 788 patients with non-severe pneumonia died compared with 488 (14%) of 3434 patients with severe pneumonia. Three characteristics were strongly associated with death of children retrospectively classified as having non-severe pneumonia: severe pallor (adjusted risk ratio 5·9, 95% CI 5·1-6·8), mild to moderate pallor (3·4, 3·0-3·8), and weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) less than -3 SD (3·8, 3·4-4·3). Additional factors that were independently associated with death were: WAZ less than -2 to -3 SD, age younger than 12 months, lower chest wall indrawing, respiratory rate of 70 breaths per min or more, female sex, admission to hospital in a malaria endemic region, moderate dehydration, and an axillary temperature of 39°C or more.

INTERPRETATION

In settings of high mortality, WAZ less than -3 SD or any degree of pallor among children with non-severe pneumonia was associated with a clinically important risk of death. Our data suggest that admission to hospital should not be denied to children with these signs and we urge clinicians to consider these risk factors in addition to WHO criteria in their decision making.

FUNDING

Wellcome Trust.

Electronic sharing of diagnostic information and patient outcomes

OBJECTIVES

Hospital sharing of electronic health record (EHR) diagnostic data has the potential to improve communication across providers and improve patient outcomes. However, implementing EHR systems can be difficult for hospitals. This study uses Hospital Compare (HC) and American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Information Technology Survey data to estimate the association between sharing EHR data and patient outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive and multivariate linear regression analyses.

METHODS

This study links 2 years of HC data on 30-day patient mortality and readmissions for heart failure (HF) and pneumonia with 2 years of AHA data. The sample was restricted to hospitals included in both years in both sets of data. We estimated the associations between sharing EHR diagnostic data and patient outcomes with a multivariate linear regression analysis. Results were adjusted by hospital characteristics from the AHA annual survey.

RESULTS

Hospitals' sharing of radiology report data with hospitals within their system was associated with significantly lower mortality scores for pneumonia (-0.22; P <.01). Conversely, hospital sharing of radiology report data with hospitals outside their system was associated with significantly higher HF mortality scores (0.26; P <.01). We found qualitatively similar results with sharing laboratory results through EHRs.

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital sharing of EHR data with providers within their system is associated with better patient mortality, whereas sharing data with providers outside their system is associated with worsened patient mortality. Improving communication between hospitals using different EHR systems may be more crucial than simply expanding data sharing.

Corticosteroids for pneumonia

BACKGROUND

Pneumonia is a common and potentially serious illness. Corticosteroids have been suggested for the treatment of different types of infection, however their role in the treatment of pneumonia remains unclear. This is an update of a review published in 2011.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in the treatment of pneumonia.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and LILACS on 3 March 2017, together with relevant conference proceedings and references of identified trials. We also searched three trials registers for ongoing and unpublished trials.

SELECTION CRITERIA

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed systemic corticosteroid therapy, given as adjunct to antibiotic treatment, versus placebo or no corticosteroids for adults and children with pneumonia.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Two review authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information. We estimated risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and pooled data using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect model when possible.

MAIN RESULTS

We included 17 RCTs comprising a total of 2264 participants; 13 RCTs included 1954 adult participants, and four RCTs included 310 children. This update included 12 new studies, excluded one previously included study, and excluded five new trials. One trial awaits classification.All trials limited inclusion to inpatients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), with or without healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP). We assessed the risk of selection bias and attrition bias as low or unclear overall. We assessed performance bias risk as low for nine trials, unclear for one trial, and high for seven trials. We assessed reporting bias risk as low for three trials and high for the remaining 14 trials.Corticosteroids significantly reduced mortality in adults with severe pneumonia (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.84; moderate-quality evidence), but not in adults with non-severe pneumonia (RR 0.95, 95% CI 0.45 to 2.00). Early clinical failure rates (defined as death from any cause, radiographic progression, or clinical instability at day 5 to 8) were significantly reduced with corticosteroids in people with severe and non-severe pneumonia (RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.7; and RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.83, respectively; high-quality evidence). Corstocosteroids reduced time to clinical cure, length of hospital and intensive care unit stays, development of respiratory failure or shock not present at pneumonia onset, and rates of pneumonia complications.Among children with bacterial pneumonia, corticosteroids reduced early clinical failure rates (defined as for adults, RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.70; high-quality evidence) based on two small, clinically heterogeneous trials, and reduced time to clinical cure.Hyperglycaemia was significantly more common in adults treated with corticosteroids (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.14). There were no significant differences between corticosteroid-treated people and controls for other adverse events or secondary infections (RR 1.19, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.93).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Corticosteroid therapy reduced mortality and morbidity in adults with severe CAP; the number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome was 18 patients (95% CI 12 to 49) to prevent one death. Corticosteroid therapy reduced morbidity, but not mortality, for adults and children with non-severe CAP. Corticosteroid therapy was associated with more adverse events, especially hyperglycaemia, but the harms did not seem to outweigh the benefits.

Urinary Intestine Fatty Acid Binding Protein is Associated with Poor Outcome of Pneumonia Patients in Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND

Urinary intestine fatty acid binding protein (U-IFABP) is a biomarker for gut injury. Previous studies showed that enterocyte damage in critically ill patients was common and appeared to be associated with poor prognosis. However, the impact of enterocyte damage on the outcome of critically ill patients with pneumonia has not yet been well investigated. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prognostic value of U-IFABP in critically ill patients with pneumonia.

METHODS

A prospective observational study was performed in the intensive care unit (ICU) from September 1, 2013 to April 30, 2014. Pneumonia patients were divided into survival and non-survival groups. U-IFABP was measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for 7 consecutive days after admission to ICU and expressed as U-IFABP/urine creatinine ratio. The prognostic value was tested by Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves and Kaplan-Meier curves.

RESULTS

A total of 32 pneumonia patients with endotracheal intubation were enrolled. U-IFABP/Cr levels were significantly higher in non-survivors than in survivors at day 1 (p = 0.033), day 4 (p = 0.018), day 5 (p = 0.008), day 6 (p = 0.006) and day 7 (p = 0.008) after ICU admission. The areas under ROC curve in predicting mortality were 0.755 (D1), 0.781 (D4), 0.812 (D5), 0.823 (D6), and 0.812 (D7). Moreover, pneumonia patients with day 7 U-IFABP/Cr above the cutoff of 28.9 pg/100 µL had a significantly lower survival rate (p = 0.043).

CONCLUSIONS

Enterocyte injury was common in critically ill patients with pneumonia. The severity of enterocyte injury, as evidenced by the U-IFABP/Cr, was associated with the patient's mortality. U-IFABP/Cr may serve as a significant prognostic factor for patients with pneumonia admitted to ICU. Further studies with larger populations are needed to verify these issues.

Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly: Subgroup Analysis on Hospital Length of Stay, Ventilator-Dependent Respiratory Failure Rate, and In-hospital Mortality Rate

CONTEXT

Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is a promising adjunctive treatment for older adults hospitalized for pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE

To report subgroup analyses from the Multicenter Osteopathic Pneumonia Study in the Elderly (MOPSE) relating to hospital length of stay (LOS), ventilator-dependent respiratory failure rate, and in-hospital mortality rate.

DESIGN

Multicenter randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Seven community hospitals.

PARTICIPANTS

Three hundred eighty-seven patients aged 50 years or older who met specific criteria for pneumonia on hospital admission.

INTERVENTIONS

Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups that received an adjunctive OMT protocol (n=130), a light touch (LT) protocol (n=124), or conventional care only (CCO) (n=133).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcomes for subgroup analyses were LOS, ventilator-dependent respiratory failure rate, and in-hospital mortality rate. Subgroups were age (50-74 years or ≥75 years), Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) class (I-II, III, IV, or V), and type of pneumonia (community-acquired or nursing-home acquired). Data were analyzed by intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses using stratified Cox proportional hazards models and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests for general association.

RESULTS

By per-protocol analysis of the younger age subgroup, LOS was shorter for the OMT group (median, 2.9 days; n=43) than the LT (median, 3.7 days; n=45) and CCO (median, 4.0 days; n=65) groups (P=.006). By intention-to-treat analysis of the older age subgroup, in-hospital mortality rates were lower for the OMT (1 of 66 [2%]) and LT (2 of 68 [3%]) groups than the CCO group (9 of 67 [13%]) (P=.005). By per-protocol analysis of the PSI class IV subgroup, the OMT group had a shorter LOS than the CCO group (median, 3.8 days [n=40] vs 5.0 days [n=50]; P=.01) and a lower ventilator-dependent respiratory failure rate than the CCO group (0 of 40 [0%] vs 5 of 50 [10%]; P=.05). By intention-to-treat analysis, in-hospital mortality rates in the PSI class V subgroup were lower (P=.05) for the OMT group (1 of 22 [5%]) than the CCO group (6 of 19 [32%]) but not the LT group (2 of 15 [13%]).

CONCLUSION

Subgroup analyses suggested adjunctive OMT for pneumonia reduced LOS in adults aged 50 to 74 years and lowered in-hospital mortality rates in adults aged 75 years or older. Adjunctive OMT may also reduce LOS and in-hospital mortality rates in older adults with more severe pneumonia. Interestingly, LT also reduced in-hospital mortality rates in adults aged 75 years or older relative to CCO. (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00258661).

Comparable outcomes among trial and nontrial participants in a clinical trial of antibiotics for childhood pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

We compared characteristics and outcomes of children enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing oral amoxicillin and benzyl penicillin for the treatment of chest indrawing pneumonia vs. children who received routine care to determine the external validity of the trial results.

STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING

A retrospective cohort study was conducted among children aged 2-59 months admitted in six Kenyan hospitals. Data for nontrial participants were extracted from inpatient records upon conclusion of the RCT. Mortality among trial vs. nontrial participants was compared in multivariate models.

RESULTS

A total of 1,709 children were included, of whom 527 were enrolled in the RCT and 1,182 received routine care. History of a wheeze was more common among trial participants (35.4% vs. 11.2%; P < 0.01), while dehydration was more common among nontrial participants (8.6% vs. 5.9%; P = 0.05). Other patient characteristics were balanced between the two groups. Among those with available outcome data, 14/1,140 (1.2%) nontrial participants died compared to 4/527 (0.8%) enrolled in the trial (adjusted odds ratio, 0.7; 95% confidence interval: 0.2-2.1).

CONCLUSION

Patient characteristics were similar, and mortality was low among trial and nontrial participants. These findings support the revised World Health Organization treatment recommendations for chest indrawing pneumonia.

Long-Term PM2.5 Exposure and Respiratory, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality in Older US Adults

The impact of chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5)) on respiratory disease and lung cancer mortality is poorly understood. In a cohort of 18.9 million Medicare beneficiaries (4.2 million deaths) living across the conterminous United States between 2000 and 2008, we examined the association between chronic PM2.5 exposure and cause-specific mortality. We evaluated confounding through adjustment for neighborhood behavioral covariates and decomposition of PM2.5 into 2 spatiotemporal scales. We found significantly positive associations of 12-month moving average PM2.5 exposures (per 10-μg/m3 increase) with respiratory, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and pneumonia mortality, with risk ratios ranging from 1.10 to 1.24. We also found significant PM2.5-associated elevated risks for cardiovascular and lung cancer mortality. Risk ratios generally increased with longer moving averages; for example, an elevation in 60-month moving average PM2.5 exposures was linked to 1.33 times the lung cancer mortality risk (95% confidence interval: 1.24, 1.40), as compared with 1.13 (95% confidence interval: 1.11, 1.15) for 12-month moving average exposures. Observed associations were robust in multivariable models, although evidence of unmeasured confounding remained. In this large cohort of US elderly, we provide important new evidence that long-term PM2.5 exposure is significantly related to increased mortality from respiratory disease, lung cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Quality of Care in the United States Territories, 1999-2012

BACKGROUND

Millions of Americans live in the US territories, but health outcomes and payments among Medicare beneficiaries in these territories are not well characterized.

METHODS

Among Fee-for-Service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older hospitalized between 1999 and 2012 for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), and pneumonia, we compared hospitalization rates, patient outcomes, and inpatient payments in the territories and states.

RESULTS

Over 14 years, there were 4,350,813 unique beneficiaries in the territories and 402,902,615 in the states. Hospitalization rates for AMI, HF, and pneumonia declined overall and did not differ significantly. However, 30-day mortality rates were higher in the territories for all 3 conditions: in the most recent time period (2008-2012), the adjusted odds of 30-day mortality were 1.34 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.21-1.48], 1.24 (95% CI, 1.12-1.37), and 1.85 (95% CI, 1.71-2.00) for AMI, HF, and pneumonia, respectively; adjusted odds of 1-year mortality were also higher. In the most recent study period, inflation-adjusted Medicare in-patient payments, in 2012 dollars, were lower in the territories than the states, at $9234 less (61% lower than states), $4479 less (50% lower), and $4403 less (39% lower) for AMI, HF, and pneumonia hospitalizations, respectively (P<0.001 for all).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Among Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries, in 2008-2012 mortality rates were higher, or not significantly different, and hospital reimbursements were lower for patients hospitalized with AMI, HF, and pneumonia in the territories. Improvement of health care and policies in the territories is critical to ensure health equity for all Americans.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic risk factors of healthcare-associated pneumonia in a Korean tertiary teaching hospital

The 2016 American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA) guidelines removed the concept of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP). We examined whether the 2016 ATS/IDSA guidelines are applicable in Korea.We conducted a retrospective, observational study of pneumonia patients who were hospitalized at a tertiary teaching hospital from March 2012 to February 2014. Identified pathogens that were not susceptible to β-lactams, macrolides, and fluoroquinolones were defined as community-acquired pneumonia drug-resistant pathogens (CAP-DRPs). We analyzed the risk factors for 28-day mortality and the occurrence rate of CAP-DRPs.Of the 1046 patients, 399 were classified with HCAP and 647 with CAP. HCAP patients were older and had more comorbidities than CAP patients. Initial pneumonia severity index (PSI) was higher in patients with HCAP than with CAP. HCAP was associated with not only an increased rate of CAP-DRPs (HCAP, 19.8%; CAP, 4.0%; P < .001) but also an increased rate of inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy (IIAT) (HCAP, 16.8%; CAP, 4.6%; P < .001). HCAP was also associated with an increased 28-day mortality rate compared with CAP (HCAP, 14.5%; CAP, 6.3%; P < .001). In a multivariable analysis, PSI was an independent risk factor for 28-day mortality in HCAP patients (odds ratio 1.02, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.04). CAP-DRPs and IIAT were not associated with mortality.Patients with HCAP revealed higher rates of CAP-DRPs, IIAT, and mortality than patients with CAP. However, CAP-DRPs and IIAT were not associated with mortality. PSI was the main predictive factor for 28-day mortality in patients with HCAP.

Statin therapy in patients with community-acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of death from infection in developed countries. There is evidence of an association between improved survival from infection and statin use. The possible beneficial effects of statins are complicated by the common use of macrolide antibiotics for pneumonia, with current guidance suggesting that concurrent macrolide and statin use is contraindicated.We conducted an observational study of statin use in patients with CAP. Of 2,067 patients with CAP, 30.4% were on statin therapy at admission. Statin users were more likely to survive the admission (p<0.001). In addition, we conducted a survey of doctors and found that knowledge regarding concurrent macrolide and statin use was lacking.These data suggest a potential role of statins in the management of CAP. Further research using high-dose statins is required to assess their safe use in subjects with mild to moderate infections.

Initial empiric antibiotic therapy for community-acquired pneumonia in Chinese hospitals

OBJECTIVES

Studies on treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in China are scarce. We performed a study to investigate empiric antibiotic practices for patients hospitalized with CAP in China and the risk factors for treatment failure.

METHODS

Data were collected from a national Chinese hospitalization database. Adult patients who were diagnosed with CAP between 1 October 2014 and 30 September 2015 were identified. We studied initial empiric antibiotic regimens, microbiologic sampling, treatment failure, in-hospital mortality and length of hospital stay.

RESULTS

We included 18 043 adult patients from 185 hospitals who met all the study inclusion criteria. The most common initial antibiotic regimen for CAP was monotherapy with a fluoroquinolone (14.8%, 2671/18 043). The most common initial antibiotic (used alone or in combination with other antibiotics) was levofloxacin (15.7%, 4597/29 278 (this denominator represents the total number of initial antibiotics)). The microbiologic sampling rate was 26.9% (4851/18 043). A total of 4050 (22.4%) of 18 043 patients experienced treatment failure. Multivariate logistic regression demonstrated that older age, male sex, coexisting lung cancer and use of regimens not covering atypical pathogens were risk factors for treatment failure. In-hospital mortality was 2.1% (380/18 043). The median hospital length of stay was 11 days (interquartile range, 8-15 days).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients receiving Chinese guideline-adherent regimens had better outcomes, and atypical pathogen active regimens were associated with a lower treatment failure rate and shorter length of hospital stay.

Comparative effectiveness of injectable penicillin versus a combination of penicillin and gentamicin in children with pneumonia characterised by indrawing in Kenya: protocol for an observational study

INTRODUCTION

WHO treatment guidelines are widely recommended for guiding treatment for millions of children with pneumonia every year across multiple low-income and middle-income countries. Guidelines are based on synthesis of available evidence that provides moderate certainty in evidence of effects for forms of pneumonia that can result in hospitalisation. However, trials have included fewer children from Africa than other settings, and it is suggested that African children with pneumonia have higher mortality. Thus, despite improving access to recommended treatments and deployment with high coverage of childhood vaccines, pneumonia remains one of the top causes of mortality for children in Kenya. Establishing whether there are benefits of alternative treatment regimens to help reduce mortality would require pragmatic clinical trials. However, these remain relatively expensive and time consuming. This protocol describes an approach to using secondary analysis of a new, large observational dataset as a potentially cheaper and quicker way to examine the comparative effectiveness of penicillin versus penicillin plus gentamicin in treatment of indrawing pneumonia. Addressing this question is important, as although it is now recommended that this form of pneumonia is treated with oral medication as an outpatient, it remains associated with non-trivial mortality that may be higher outside trial populations.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will use a large observational dataset that captures data on all admissions to 13 Kenyan county hospitals. These data represent the findings of clinicians in practice and, because the system was developed for large observational research, pose challenges of non-random treatment allocation and missing data. To overcome these challenges, this analysis will use a rigorous approach to study design, propensity score methods and multiple imputation to minimise bias.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The primary data are held by hospitals participating in the Kenyan Clinical Information Network project with de-identifed data shared with the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Programme for agreed analyses. The use of data for the analysis described received ethical clearance from the KEMRI scientific and ethical review committee. The findings of this analysis will be published.

Trend analysis of mortality rates and causes of death in children under 5 years old in Beijing, China from 1992 to 2015 and forecast of mortality into the future: an entire population-based epidemiological study

OBJECTIVES

To analyse trends in mortality and causes of death among children aged under 5 years in Beijing, China between 1992 and 2015 and to forecast under-5 mortality rates (U5MRs) for the period 2016-2020.

METHODS

An entire population-based epidemiological study was conducted. Data collection was based on the Child Death Reporting Card of the Beijing Under-5 Mortality Rate Surveillance Network. Trends in mortality and leading causes of death were analysed using the χ² test and SPSS 19.0 software. An autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model was fitted to forecast U5MRs between 2016 and 2020 using the EViews 8.0 software.

RESULTS

Mortality in neonates, infants and children aged under 5 years decreased by 84.06%, 80.04% and 80.17% from 1992 to 2015, respectively. However, the U5MR increased by 7.20% from 2013 to 2015. Birth asphyxia, congenital heart disease, preterm/low birth weight and other congenital abnormalities comprised the top five causes of death. The greatest, most rapid reduction was that of pneumonia by 92.26%, with an annual average rate of reduction of 10.53%. The distribution of causes of death differed among children of different ages. Accidental asphyxia and sepsis were among the top five causes of death in children aged 28 days to 1 year and accident was among the top five causes in children aged 1-4 years. The U5MRs in Beijing are projected to be 2.88‰, 2.87‰, 2.90‰, 2.97‰ and 3.09‰ for the period 2016-2020, based on the predictive model.

CONCLUSION

Beijing has made considerable progress in reducing U5MRs from 1992 to 2015. However, U5MRs could show a slight upward trend from 2016 to 2020. Future considerations for child healthcare include the management of birth asphyxia, congenital heart disease, preterm/low birth weight and other congenital abnormalities. Specific preventative measures should be implemented for children of various age groups.

Factors associated with mortality due to neonatal pneumonia in India: a protocol for systematic review and planned meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

India contributes to the highest number of neonatal deaths globally. It also has the greatest number of pneumonia-related neonatal deaths in the developing world. We aim to systematically review the evidence for the factors associated with mortality due to neonatal pneumonia in the Indian context, to address the lack of consolidated evidence on this important issue.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This protocol is part of a series of three reviews on neonatal pneumonia in India. Observational studies reporting on outcome of neonatal pneumonia in the Indian context, and published in English in peer-reviewed and indexed journals will be eligible for inclusion. Outcomes of this review will be the factors determining mortality due to neonatal pneumonia. A total of nine databases will be searched. Electronic and hand searching of published and grey literature will be performed. Selection of studies will be done in title, abstract and full text screening stages. Risk of bias, independently assessed by two authors, will be evaluated. Meta-analysis will be performed and heterogeneity assessed. Pooled effect estimates will be stated with 95% confidence intervals. Narrative synthesis will be done where meta-analysis cannot be performed. Publication bias will be evaluated and sensitivity analysis performed according to study quality. Quality of this review will be evaluated using AMSTAR (Assessing the Methodological quality of Systematic Reviews) and GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development & Evaluation). A summary of findings table will be reported using GRADEPro.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Since this is a review involving analysis of secondary data which is available in the public domain, and does not involve human participants, ethical approval was not required. The findings of the study will be shared with all stakeholders of this research. Knowledge dissemination workshops will be conducted with relevant stakeholders to transfer the evidence, tailored to the stakeholder (eg, policy briefs, publications, information booklets, etc).

Time to antibiotics administration and outcome in community-acquired pneumonia: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The association between early antibiotic administration and outcomes remains controversial in patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia.

METHODS

We performed a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing two antibiotic treatment strategies for patients hospitalized for moderately severe CAP. The univariate and multivariate associations between time to antibiotic administration (TTA) and time to clinical stability were assessed using a Cox proportional hazard model. Secondary outcomes were death, intensive care unit admission and hospital readmission up to 90days.

RESULTS

371 patients (mean age 76years, CURB-65 score≥2 in 52%) were included. Mean TTA was 4.35h (SD 3.48), with 58.5% of patients receiving the first antibiotic dose within 4h. In multivariate analysis, number of symptoms and signs (HR 0.876, 95% CI 0.784-0.979, p=0.020), age (HR 0.986, 95% CI 0.975-0.996, p=0.007), initial heart rate (HR 0.992, 95% CI 0.986-0.999, p=0.023), and platelets count (HR 0.998, 95% CI 0.996-0.999, p=0.004) were associated with a reduced probability of reaching clinical stability. The association between TTA and time to clinical stability was not significant (HR 1.009, 95% CI 0.977-1.042, p=0.574). We found no association between TTA and the risk of intensive care unit admission, death or readmission up to 90days after the initial admission.

CONCLUSION

In patients hospitalized for moderately severe CAP, a shorter time to antibiotic administration was not associated with a favorable outcome. These findings support the current recommendations that do not assign a specific time frame for antibiotics administration.

Impact of COPD on outcomes in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia: Analysis of the Spanish national hospital discharge database (2004-2013)

AIM

To examine trends in incidence and outcomes of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) hospitalizations among patients with or without COPD in Spain (2004-2013).

METHODS

We used national hospital discharge data to select all hospital admissions for CAP. Incidence was calculated overall and according to the presence or absence of COPD.

RESULTS

We identified 901,136 hospital admissions for CAP (32.25% with COPD). Incidence of hospitalizations of CAP increased significantly over time among patients with and without COPD, but it was higher among people with COPD for all years analyzed. S. pneumoniae decreased over time for both groups. Time trend analyses showed significant decreases in mortality during admission for CAP for patients with and without COPD. Factor independently associated with higher mortality in both groups included: male sex, older age, higher comorbidity, isolation of S. aureus or P. aeruginosa, use of mechanical ventilation, and readmission. The presence of COPD was associated with a lower in-hospital mortality (IHM) (OR: 0.58, 95%CI 0.57-0.59).

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of hospitalizations for CAP increased over time in patients with and without COPD, being higher in the COPD population for all years analyzed. IHM decreased over time in both groups. There were no differences in mortality between COPD and non-COPD patients.

Does adding clinical data to administrative data improve agreement among hospital quality measures?

BACKGROUND

Hospital performance measures based on patient mortality and readmission have indicated modest rates of agreement. We examined if combining clinical data on laboratory tests and vital signs with administrative data leads to improved agreement with each other, and with other measures of hospital performance in the nation's largest integrated health care system.

METHODS

We used patient-level administrative and clinical data, and hospital-level data on quality indicators, for 2007-2010 from the Veterans Health Administration (VA). For patients admitted for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF) and pneumonia we examined changes in hospital performance on 30-d mortality and 30-d readmission rates as a result of adding clinical data to administrative data. We evaluated whether this enhancement yielded improved measures of hospital quality, based on concordance with other hospital quality indicators.

RESULTS

For 30-d mortality, data enhancement improved model performance, and significantly changed hospital performance profiles; for 30-d readmission, the impact was modest. Concordance between enhanced measures of both outcomes, and with other hospital quality measures - including Joint Commission process measures, VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) mortality and morbidity, and case volume - remained poor.

CONCLUSIONS

Adding laboratory tests and vital signs to measure hospital performance on mortality and readmission did not improve the poor rates of agreement across hospital quality indicators in the VA.

INTERPRETATION

Efforts to improve risk adjustment models should continue; however, evidence of validation should precede their use as reliable measures of quality.