Epidemiologic trends in the hospitalization of elderly Medicare patients for pneumonia, 1991-1998
1Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Department of Health and Human Services, 6010 Executive Blvd, Rockville, MD 20852-3813, USA. wbaine@ahrq.gov
Objectives:
This study determined hospitalization rates of elderly Americans for pneumonia from 1991 through 1998.
Methods:
Epidemiologic data were described for 273,143 pneumonia hospitalizations.
Results:
Annual hospitalizations for aspiration pneumonia increased by 93.5%. Pneumonia hospitalization rates increased steeply with age, especially among men. Black men were at highest risk for aspiration, unspecified, Klebsiella, "other gram-negative," and staphylococcal pneumonia; White men had the highest Haemophilus and pneumococcal pneumonia rates. Among women, Blacks predominated in aspiration and Klebsiella pneumonia; Whites had the highest Haemophilus and bronchopneumonia rates.
Conclusions:
An epidemic of hospitalization for aspiration pneumonia smoldered over 8 years. Significant disparities existed in hospitalization risks by race, sex, and principal diagnosis.
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