The limited impact of psychiatric disease and psychotropic medication on the outcome of hospitalization for pneumonia.

Abstract

Psychotropic medicine has been suggested to be a risk factor for the onset of pneumonia, especially aspiration pneumonia. However, the impact of coexisting psychiatric disease and psychotropic medication on the outcomes of pneumonia patients in the respiratory care unit setting is less well-known. We conducted a single-centre retrospective study of 209 consecutive patients who were hospitalized due to pneumonia. Using the patients' records, coexisting psychiatric diseases and the use of psychotropic medicines were reviewed to examine their association with the clinical course of inpatients with pneumonia. Psychotropic medicines, including agents for insomnia, were used in 73 (34.9%) patients, and there were 35 (16.9%) patients who had psychiatric disease. Among the 12 (5.7%) fatal cases, 4 patients were treated with psychotropic medicines, all of which were agents for insomnia. However, the rate of psychotropic medicine usage in the fatal cases (33.3%) was equivalent to that of the survivors (35%, p=0.905), and the coexistence of psychiatric disease did not affect survival. The median duration of hospitalization was 15 days. The duration of hospitalization of the patients who received psychotropic medicines (median: 17 [range: 7-89] days) was also equivalent to that of the other patients (14 [2-55] days, p=0.081). While the present study was a single-centre study and had a small population, coexisting psychiatric disease and psychotropic medicine use did not have a strong impact on the outcomes of pneumonia patients who were hospitalized in the respiratory unit of a university hospital. Further prospective studies targeting a larger cohort are needed.