This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (2)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Three original articles and 1 editorial on the length of hospital stay (LOS) of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were published in the November 8 and 22, 1999, issues of the ARCHIVES.^1-4 Ramirez et al¹ found that an early switch in therapy from intravenous to oral antibiotics was associated with an early hospital discharge in 44% of 200 consecutive patients, corresponding to 66% of the patients who underwent the switch in therapy. The authors found that the mean pneumonia-related LOS in 88 patients (3.4 days) was significantly shorter than for 45 patients hospitalized for treatment of comorbid conditions, diagnostic workup, or social need (LOS, 7.6 days). The authors calculated that more than $395 million could be saved with an early switch in therapy, but they did not identify the groups of patients for whom the savings might be higher, nor did they evaluate the long-term rates of mortality and rehospitalization.

. . . [Full Text of this Article]

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Determinants of hospital costs in community-acquired pneumonia
Reyes et al.
Eur Respir J 2008;31:1061-1067.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Duration of length of stay in pneumonia: influence of clinical factors and hospital type
Menendez et al.
Eur Respir J 2003;22:643-648.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT