[Pneumonia in the elderly population over 70 years with limited functional condition: case-control study of...

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) of the elderly is an increasingly important growing health problem due to its prevalence and mortality. Among the factors that are usually related with poor evolution are advanced age, poor functional status and coming from a socio-health care institution such as residential homes for the elderly. In this study, we have chosen a population over 70 years of age with limited functional capacity (Barthel Index < 50) in order to know if coming from a residential home for the elderly is an isolated factor that is associated to worse prognosis of CAP.

We selected 87 patients over 70 years from a prospective and multicenter study of the hospitalized CAPs during one year. We analyzed the evolution and course of the CAP based on place or origin and then conducted a case-control study of the elderly over 70 years with the Barthel under 50, including 21 elderly from residences and 21 from the own home.

In elderly patients over 70 years with CAP, those coming from the residence have a confusional picture more often and come to emergency with lower values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lower arterial oxygen saturation, greater involvement on the x-ray, Fine Index is worse and die more often. When we limit the population to those over 70 years with Barthel under 50, we do not find differences in institutionalized patients versus the others.

In the elderly over 70 years with CAP, patients from assisted living residences have greater mortality. However, when functional capacity is bad (Barthel < 50), place or origin (community or elderly residence) loses importance and becomes a variable that has no more influence than others in the clinical evolution and course of the CAP.