THURSDAY, June 18, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with increased risk of long-term adverse events, according to a study published online June 11 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Dean T. Eurich, Ph.D., from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and colleagues examined long-term prognosis after CAP using data from 6,078 patients with CAP recruited from six hospitals and seven emergency departments. Patients were matched for age, sex, and site of treatment with five non-pneumonia controls (29,402 patients).
The researchers found that 2,858 CAP patients and 9,399 controls died over a median of 9.8 years (absolute risk difference, 30 per 1,000 patient-years; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.65; P < 0.001). The lowest absolute rate difference for mortality was seen for CAP patients younger than 25 years (4 per 1,000 patient-years; aHR, 2.40), while the highest absolute rate difference was seen for patients over 80 years (92 per 1,000 patient-years; aHR, 1.42). Compared with controls, CAP patients had higher absolute rates of all-cause hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and CAP-related visits (all P < 0.001).
"Our results indicate that an episode of CAP confers a high risk of long-term adverse events compared to the general population who have not experienced CAP and this is irrespective of age," the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to the health care and pharmaceutical industries.
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