Abstract
BackgroundPneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide. However, studies focusing on risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the home health care (HHC) population remain scarce.AimsThis study aimed to evaluate risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP among HHC patients in Taiwan.MethodsThis retrospective cross-sectional study extracted data from patients’ electronic medical records between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to explore factors associated with hospitalization for CAP.ResultsIn total, 598 patients (men/women: 236/362) were included. One hundred ninety-nine patients (33.28%) were hospitalized for pneumonia. Inpatients showed a higher proportion of the following: male sex, functional impairment, hypoalbuminemia, anemia, nasogastric tube use, excessive polypharmacy, stroke, dementia, heart failure, chronic respiratory disease, and chronic liver disease. Furthermore, nasogastric tube use (odds ratio [OR] 3.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88–4.82), anemia (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.48–3.80), male sex (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.43–3.20), chronic respiratory disease (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.33–3.30), dementia (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.27–2.97), heart failure (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.11–2.56), and hypoalbuminemia (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.03–2.40) significantly increased the risk of hospitalization for CAP.ConclusionsOur results revealed risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP in HHC patients. In addition to chronic diseases, malnutrition is an important risk factor. Caregivers should make prompt assessments and take preventive measures for such patients.
Highlights
Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide
We further revealed that male sex and nasogastric tube use were associated with a higher risk of hospitalization for pneumonia in the health care (HHC) population
We found that HHC patients with dementia, chronic respiratory disease, or heart failure had an increased risk for pneumonia-related admission
Summary
Studies focusing on risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the home health care (HHC) population remain scarce. Aims This study aimed to evaluate risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP among HHC patients in Taiwan. Nasogastric tube use (odds ratio [OR] 3.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88–4.82), anemia (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.48–3.80), male sex (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.43–3.20), chronic respiratory disease (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.33–3.30), dementia (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.27–2.97), heart failure (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.11–2.56), and hypoalbuminemia (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.03–2.40) significantly increased the risk of hospitalization for CAP. Conclusions Our results revealed risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP in HHC patients. Previous studies have mostly explored risk factors among the general population or residents in long-term care facilities [3, 4]. In HHC setting, most published studies evaluating the incidence and risk factors of infection focused primarily on patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) treatment.
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