ABSTRACT
Objective To study the clinical characteristics of healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP).Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted on consecutive hospitalized pneumonia cases from January 2007 through April 2008.Results HCAP group of 75 patients was compared with 133 patients of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and 76 patients of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP). Most of HCAP patients had a history of recent hospitalization (47 cases), clinical IV infusion (27 cases), and prior chemotherapy or antibiotic therapy (27 cases). Underlying diseases were identified in 71 (94.7%) of HCAP patients, significantly higher than that in CAP group (37.6%, P<0.01). Positive sputum culture in CAP, HCAP and HAP was 22.6%, 56.9%, 77.6% respectively. Antibiotic resistance of bacteria in HCAP (71.43%) and HAP (80%) was comparable (P>0.05). Initial antibiotic therapy was effective in 47 (62.6%) cases of HCAP. Only 52.9% of the identified pathogens were sensitive to initial antibiotic therapies. The mortality of HCAP (12%) was similar to HAP (23%, P>0.05), but significantly higher than CAP (3%, P<0.05).Conclusions HCAP is a common type of pneumonia, which is characterized by more resistant pathogens, higher mortality, more comorbidities and poor outcomes. Antibiotic therapy should cover the hospital acquired bacterial pathogens.