[COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 pneumonia, a comparative study]

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology
• Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care Medicine

Background:

• Pneumonia management is challenging, especially during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, due to varied presentations and urgent treatment needs.
• Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and COVID-19 pneumonia require distinct diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the frequency and clinical features of CAP and COVID-19 pneumonia in hospitalized individuals.
• To assess the effectiveness of prognostic scores in predicting outcomes for hospitalized pneumonia patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analytical study including 1176 COVID-19 pneumonia patients and 124 CAP patients hospitalized between March 2020 and October 2021.
• Exclusion criteria included pregnant women; data collected from two tertiary care hospitals in Córdoba, Argentina.

Main Results:

• COVID-19 pneumonia was more common in younger males and presented with higher rates of severe illness and progression from mild to severe disease.
• While CURB-65 and qSOFA scores classified most patients as low risk, the 4C mortality and CALL scores demonstrated superior performance in predicting complications.
• In-hospital mortality rates were comparable between COVID-19 pneumonia and CAP groups (12.2% vs. 11.3%).

Conclusions:

• Hospitalized pneumonia, including COVID-19, frequently affects individuals with comorbidities.
• The 4C mortality and CALL scores are valuable tools for prognostic stratification, offering better prediction of adverse outcomes in pneumonia patients.