[Factors associated with prolonged hospital stay in community-acquired pneumonia]

The length of hospital stay in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) varies considerably, even though this factor has a great impact on the cost of care for this condition. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with prolonged hospitalization in these patients (>8 days).

Observational analysis of a prospective cohort of nonimmunosuppressed adults with CAP requiring hospitalization from 1995 through 2006.

We documented a total of 2688 consecutive episodes of CAP. Patients who required intensive care unit admission from the emergency room (n=107), those who died during hospitalization (n=200), and patients hospitalized for more than 30 days (n=60) were excluded from the analysis. The median duration of hospital stay was 8 days (IQR, 6-11). Factors independently associated with prolonged hospital stay by stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis were advanced age (OR=1.58; 95% CI, 1.002-2.503), alcohol abuse (OR=2.07; 95% CI, 1.341-3.199), high-risk Pneumonia Severity Index class (OR=1.72; 95% CI, 1.094-2.703), aspiration pneumonia (OR=4.57; 95% CI, 1.085-19.285), pleural empyema (OR=3.73; 95% CI, 1.978-7.04), and time to clinical stability (OR=1.13; 95% CI, 1.065-1.196).

Several factors that were independently associated with longer hospital stay in adult patients with CAP. These factors should be considered when evaluating the adequacy of the duration of hospitalization in a specific center and when designing future studies investigating new strategies to reduce the length of hospital stay.