• J L Llorente, R Zalacaín, L Gaztelurrutia, N Talayero, M Pérez, C Badiola, and V Sobradillo.
• Servicio de Neumología, Hospital de Cruces, Baracalco, Vizcaya.
• Enferm. Infecc. Microbiol. Clin. 1994 Jan 1; 12 (1): 21-5.

BackgroundThe aim of the present study was to know the clinical and etiologic features of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in elderly patients requiring hospital admission.MethodsA prospective study of 36 consecutive patients aged over 70 years, admitted to a general hospital was performed. Standard analytical determinations, blood cultures, and serologic studies were performed in all patients using invasive techniques: aspirative transthoracic puncture (ATP) with ultrafine needle in 35 (97%) cases, and telescopic catheter (TC) in 1 case.ResultsThe mean age was 79 years (range: 71-90). Twenty-two patients had received antibiotic treatment prior to admission (61%) and 17 (47%) presented chronic debilitating diseases. The clinical characteristics of CAP were "typical" with acute presentation in most. Fifteen cases (42%) were etiologically diagnosed and the most frequently isolated agents were Streptococcus pneumoniae (22%) and Haemophilus influenzae (8%). Empiric treatment was changed on the basis of isolations in 7 cases (19%). Eight patients died (22%).ConclusionsAccording to our results community-acquired pneumonia in the population studied: 1) generally showed an acute presentation with "typical" characteristics, carrying a high mortality rate (22%), 2) is of bacterial etiology, with S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae being the most frequently isolated microorganisms, 3) the use of ATP in community-acquired pneumonia offers a high diagnostic effectiveness, good tolerance and low risk of complications.

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