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Do Findings of High Mortality From Pneumonia in the Elderly Make It the Old Man's Friend?—Reply
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In reply
We are grateful to van der Steen and colleagues for their observations on the important topic of pneumonia treatment in the elderly. As a contribution to the discussion, we would like to summarize the data obtained in our setting and to propose some comments on this matter.
- As reported in our recent article in the ARCHIVES,1 elderly patients hospitalized with pneumonia have a higher 6-month mortality rate compared with those affected by other noninfectious diseases;
- Patients with pneumonia have a higher burden of somatic, biological, and psychological conditions;
- While different conditions are associated with 6-month mortality, in adjusted analysis the association between pneumonia and 6-month mortality loses its statistical significance;
- In end-stage demented patients affected by pneumonia, the 6-month mortality rate is dramatically increased, even if a sizable percentage (20%) remain alive.2
In Osler's time, pneumonia was really the old man's friend, since no drug treatments were available. . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Renzo Rozzini, MD;
Tony Sabatini, MD;
Marco Trabucchi, MD
Brescia, Italy
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