Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases. Supplementum
-
Scand J Infect Dis Suppl · Jan 1995
ReviewCommunity-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalisation. Factors of importance for the short-and long term prognosis.
In 277 patients admitted to hospital for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) an aetiologic diagnosis was established in 68% with S. pneumoniae being the predominating agent. Four percent of the patients (12/277) died during their hospital stay, and only one of these patients was below 60 years of age. On admission, the most important factor, independently associated with fatal disease was a low serum albumin concentration, which was also a negative prognostic factor for the course of the survivors. ⋯ A high IL-6, but not a high CRP, also seemed to be associated with a higher mortality. The type-specific antibody responses to six pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide antigens included in the 23-valent vaccine as well as antibodies against the vaccine were measured by use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 65 middle-aged and elderly individuals treated in hospital for pneumonia eight weeks prior to vaccination. The antibody concentrations before and after the vaccination were comparable with those in a vaccinated age-matched control group who had not recently been treated for pneumonia...