Community-Acquired Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in the Elderly: Evaluation of 69 Patients

Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi

Serap ŞAHİN¹  Mehmet DOĞANAY¹  Emine ALP¹  Bilgehan AYGEN¹  Orhan YILDIZ¹ 

[1] Erciyes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Klinik Mikrobiyoloji ve İnfeksiyon Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, KAYSERİ;

关键词: Infections;    Respiratory tract;    Pulmonary disease;    Chronic obstructive;    Elderly;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In the future, increase in old population is suspected. Infections, especially lower respiratory tract infections, are serious cause of morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to be of help in determination of the epidemiology of lower respiratory tract infections that is supposed to be important health problem for our country in the next years. The characteristics of 69 patients over 65 years old, followed in Department of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, between 1 January 2000-1 January 2005 were evaluated. Since the study was retrospective, the distinction of typical, atypical and aspiration pneumonia couldn’t be done. Forty-six (67%) of patients were male and 23 (33%) were female and the median of age was 72 (65-90) years. The diagnosis in 50 patients was community-acquired pneumonia, whereas exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 19 patients. Tachypnea (72%) and tachycardia (65%) were the most frequent physical examination findings. Fifty-five percent of the patients had cognitive dysfunction. High sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were the common laboratory findings. The microorganisms isolated from the patients’ sputum cultures were; Streptococcus pneumoniae (from five patients), Haemophilus influenzae (from four patients), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (from four patients), Proteus spp. (from three patients), Enterobacter cloacae (from two patients), Klebsiella pneumoniae (from one patient) and normal throat bacterial flora (from 14 patients). Ampicillin-sulbactam and respiratory quinolones were the most frequent used antibiotics. Twelve (17%) patients died. The early diagnosis and therapy of lower respiratory tract infections will reduce the morbidity and mortality of patients. In elderly patients, the classical findings of pneumonia cannot be observed or these findings will be due to underlying disease. More prospective study is needed to determine the epidemiology of lower respiratory tract infections in our country.

【 授权许可】

Unknown