Valoración de la gravedad y estimación de los recursos sanitarios en los pacientes ingresados por neumonía adquirida en la comunidad

Abstract

BackgroundThe resources required for the correct treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) could be related to severity of illness. ObjectivesTo verify the distribution of diagnosis related groups (DRGs) in patients hospitalized with CAP and to determine whether the specific weight, as a measure of resource use, is related to CAP severity. MethodA retrospective study of patients with CAP admitted to our unit over a 1-year period was performed. Demographic and clinical data as well as data referring to DRG, specific weight and hospital stay were collected. ResultsA total of 129 inpatients with a mean age of 71 years (SD: 17) were studied. Seventy percent were in the highest risk groups (IV and V). The most frequent DRGs were DRG 89 (35,7%), DRG 90 (34%) and DRG 541 (17,8%). No differences were observed in specific weight between risk groups, except in class I. A low correlation between specific weight and the Fine Scale score or hospital stay was observed. No significant differences were found in the specific weight of inpatients who died, despite their greater severity of illness, compared with surviving inpatients. ConclusionsInpatients with CAP had a high level of severity of illness. The most frequent DRGs assigned on discharge in our series were directly related to pneumonia (80 and 90). The severity of inpatients with CAP did not seem to be reflected in the specific weight assigned.