Clinical implications for patients treated inappropriately for community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department

Table 1 Baseline characteristics

Variable	Appropriate initial therapy (n = 187)	Inappropriate initial therapy (n = 72)	P value
Age, yrs:	58.1 ± 17.6	62.0 ± 15.3	0.103
Male, n (%):	109 (58.3)	40 (55.6)	0.690
Race, n (%):
Caucasian	86 (46.0)	31 (43.1)	0.779
African-American	98 (52.4)	40 (55.6)
Other	3 (1.6)	1 (1.4)
CURB65	1.9 ± 1.4	2.1 ± 1.2	0.348
Charlson comorbidity score	4.5 ± 3.3	5.4 ± 1.2	0.090
Coexisting conditions, n (%):
Coronary artery disease	34 (18.2)	14 (19.4)	0.815
Congestive heart failure	56 (29.9)	31 (43.1)	0.045
Peripheral vascular disease	13 (7.0)	13 (18.1)	0.008
Cerebral vascular accident	18 (9.6)	10 (13.9)	0.322
Dementia	4 (2.1)	0 (0.0)	0.578
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	93 (49.7)	48 (66.7)	0.014
Cirrhosis	23 (12.3)	6 (8.3)	0.364
Diabetes	57 (30.5)	24 (33.3)	0.657
Chronic kidney disease	20 (10.7)	16 (22.2)	0.016
Underlying malignancy	32 (17.1)	12 (16.7)	0.932
HIV positive	1 (0.5)	0 (0.0)	1.000
Healthcare-associated risk factors, n (%):
Hospitalized in preceding 90 days	36 (19.3)	22 (30.6)	0.051
Long-term care resident	2 (1.1)	7 (9.7)	0.002
Chronic hemodialysis	3 (1.6)	6 (8.3)	0.016
Immunocompromised	38 (20.3)	17 (23.6)	0.562
Previous antibiotics	43 (23.0)	28 (38.9)	0.010
Number of healthcare risk factors:	0.7 ± 0.9	1.1 ± 1.0	<0.001
Healthcare-associated infection:	79 (42.2)	50 (69.4)	<0.001
ICU admission, n (%):	52 (27.8)	29 (40.3)	0.052
Respiratory failure, n (%):
None	142 (75.9)	51 (70.8)	0.630
Intubation/mechanical ventilation	39 (20.9)	19 (26.4)
Mask ventilation	6 (3.2)	2 (2.8)
Hypotension, n (%):	110 (58.8)	45 (62.5)	0.589

Values are expressed as mean ± SD. CURB65 = confusion of new onset, urea greater than 7 mmol/l, respiratory rate of 30 breaths per minute or greater, blood pressure less than 90 mmHg systolic or diastolic blood pressure 60 mmHg or less, age 65 or older; HIV = human immunodeficiency virus; ICU = intensive care unit. The Charlson comorbidity score predicts the ten-year mortality for a patient who may have a range of comorbid conditions, such as heart disease, AIDS, or cancer (a total of 22 conditions).

ISSN: 1471-2334