The "peripneumonia" period in the older adult

CAP in the older adult is a complex multifactorial syndrome. Older adults are at increased risk for pneumonia and death associated with pneumonia. The prevalence and severity of risk factors for pneumonia increase with age. Although alterations in respiratory function occur with increased frequency in the elderly, immune senescence is probably the major predisposing factor contributing to the increased incidence, morbidity, and mortality of respiratory infection in the elderly. Yet, risk factors, once identified, may be amendable to interventions and health behavior modification to reduce the occurrence of pneumonia. Older patients discharged from the hospital after recovering from pneumonia are at increased risk for subsequent hospitalizations and death. Further studies are needed to explore the long-term consequences of pneumonia in the antimicrobial era on quality of life and physical and psychosocial functioning.