Introduction: The long-term prognosis of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has attracted increasing interest in recent years. The objective of the present study is to investigate the short and long-term outcomes in hospitalized patients with CAP and to identify the predictive factors associated with mortality.
Patients and methods: The study was designed as a retrospective, multicenter, observational study. Hospitalized patients with CAP, as recorded in the pneumonia database of the Turkish Thoracic Society between 2011 and 2013, were included. Short-term mortality was defined as 30-day mortality and long-term mortality was assessed from those who survived 30 days. Predictive factors for short- and long-term mortality were analyzed.
Results: The study included 785 patients, 68% of whom were male and the mean age was 67 +/- 16 (18-92). The median duration of follow-up was 61.2 +/- 11.8 (37-90) months. Thirty-day mortality was 9.2% and the median survival of patients surviving 30 days was 62.8 +/- 4.4 months. Multivariate analysis revealed that advanced age, the absence of fever, a higher Charlson comorbidity score, higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN)/albumin ratios and lower alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were all predictors of long-term mortality.
Conclusion: Long-term mortality following hospitalization for CAP is high. Charlson score and lack of fever are potential indicators for decreased long-term survival. As novel parameters, baseline BUN/albumin ratios and ALT levels are significantly associated with late mortality. Further interventions and closer monitoring are necessary for such subgroups of patients. (C) 2017 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.