Present Situation of Pneumonia in Elderly Inpatients of Our Respiratory Medicine Department / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

To understand the present situation of elderly patients with pneumonia, all 3,784 inpatients of our Department of Respiratory Medicine from April 2010 to March 2015 were analyzed. In total, 718 patients (pts) were diagnosed with pneumonia (median age, 78 years) and they were classified into two groups those aged>65 years (elderly group, EG 600 pts and those ≤d65 years (younger group, YG; 118 pts). Annual change in the ratio of EG/YG, mortality rate, respiratory assist mode, and number of hospital days were analyzed. The ratio of EG/YG was 0.11 in 2011 but was higher at 0.20 in 2014.The mortality rate was significantly higher in EG than in YG (147/600 vs 15/118; p<0.05). In the group of deaths, among patients who were intubated, 6 of 15 were in YG and 5 of 147 were in EG, respectively. The median number of hospital days was not significantly different between the groups for patients who died (EG 13, YG 14) or were discharged (EG 15, YG 12). In EG, the proportion of patients who changed hospitals for recuperation was up to 10% and the median hospital stay was 48 days, compared to 28 days in YG. With regard to pneumonia, because the guidelines are well established and because elderly individuals, in particular, often do not require additional treatment, it is possible to provide treatment at general hospitals or at home by strengthening the cooperation between clinic and hospital as well as hospital and hospital in the community through the incorporation of information technology.