BMJ 1998;316:1690-1690 ( 6 June )

Editorials

Community acquired pneumonia in elderly people

Current British guidelines need revision 

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Community acquired pneumonia is the most common reason for acute admission to hospital, with an estimated 50 000 cases occurring each year in the United Kingdom.1 Over 90% of these patients are aged over 65 years and the associated mortality is 16-40%.2 Streptococcus pneumoniae is still the most common causative organism, probably responsible for up to 40% of cases; Mycoplasma pneumoniae (3-23%), Haemophilus influenzae (5-8%), and Legionella pneumophila (3-6%) are the next commonest.2 "Atypical" pathogens are, however, becoming more prominent in old people, and current guidelines on antibiotic treatment may not be appropriate in this age group.

Until recently pneumonia due to atypical pathogens has been considered uncommon in old people: a review of 11 studies of pneumonia identified Chlamydia and Coxiella spp as the cause in only 2% of patients aged over 65.2 However, recent studies have documented Chlamydia pneumoniae in up to 26% of cases, which suggest it is the second . . . [Full text of this article]
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Community acquired pneumonia in elderly people
Mark Woodhead, M Mamun, T Rogers, and S J Wort
BMJ 1998 317: 1524. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Pistelli, R., Lange, P., Miller, D.L. (2003). Determinants of prognosis of COPD in the elderly: mucus hypersecretion, infections, cardiovascular comorbidity. Eur Respir J 21: 10S-14s [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Dancer, S. J. (2001). The problem with cephalosporins. J Antimicrob Chemother 48: 463-478 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Macfarlane, J, Holmes, W, Gard, P, Macfarlane, R, Rose, D, Weston, V, Leinonen, M, Saikku, P, Myint, S (2001). Prospective study of the incidence, aetiology and outcome of adult lower respiratory tract illness in the community. Thorax 56: 109-114 [Abstract] [Full text]  
  • Woodhead, M., Mamun, M, Rogers, T, Wort, S J (1998). Community acquired pneumonia in elderly people. BMJ 317: 1524a-1524 [Full text]  
Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ