Abstract
The number of elderly patients in the community with immunosuppressive conditions has increased progressively over recent decades. We sought to determine the incidence, causative organisms and outcome of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) occurring in immunocompromised older patients. We prospectively compared cases of CAP in immunocompromised and non-immunocompromised patients admitted to five public hospitals in three Spanish regions. Of 320 cases studied, 115 (36%) occurred in immunocompromised patients, including: solid or hematological malignancy (97), corticosteroids or other immunosuppressive drugs (44), solid organ or stem cell transplant (five), and other conditions (eight). The etiology was established in 44% of immunocompromised patients vs. 32% of non-immunocompromised patients (p0.03). Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common causative organism in both groups (29% vs. 21%; p0.08), followed by Legionella pneumophila (3% vs. 6%; p0.01). Gram-negative bacilli were more frequent among immunocompromised patients (5% vs. 0.5%; p
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 187-192 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Clinical Microbiology and Infection |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- CAP
- Community-acquired pneumonia
- Elderly
- Immunocompromised
- Immunosuppression
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases