[Hospitalization for pneumonia in adults. Lazio, 1997-1999]

The aim of this study is to define the burden of pneumonia requiring hospitalization among adults in Lazio region from 1997 to 1999 and to describe the characteristic of community acquired (CAP), suspected nosocomial (NP) and in AIDS pneumonia. The data source is the hospital discharge register. 30517 incident episodes of pneumonia hospitalization occurred in the three years period, 20497 CAP, 9760 NP and 964 in AIDS of which 704 supposed to be acquired in hospital; the mean age is 65, 69 and 38 years respectively. Standardized hospitalization rates for CAP do not show a clear geographical pattern, while for NPs and in AIDS they are higher in the city of Rome than in the rest of the region. There are peaks of incidence during the winter for CAPs and NPs but not for AIDS. Only 20% of pneumonias have etiological diagnosis. The proportional analysis of aetiological agents shows: pneumococcus, pseudomonas, staphylococci and influenza; the most frequent comorbidities are: circulatory diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), malignancies and diabetes. 3.9% of individuals in the study with CAP or NP had more than one episode of pneumonia during the study period, for those with pneumonia in AIDS this percentage was 14.8. In-hospital lethality is 9.4%, 29.3% and 11.2% for CAP, NP and in AIDS, respectively. Data from the hospital discharge registers can be used to give a cheap and rapid glimpse to the epidemiology of pathologies frequently requiring hospitalisation neglected from more analytical surveillance systems or registries.