Aim: In the present study, we investigated in which cases the treatment of patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department should be continued by hospitalizing them.
Materials and Methods: The study included 150 patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department within one year. Patients' age, gender, comorbid diseases, complaints at the time of admission, vital signs, physical examination findings, laboratory tests, radiological images, and hospitalization status were examined. Correlations between patients' gender, comorbid diseases, radiological infiltration, sputum cultures, blood parameters, and their hospitalization-discharge status were also investigated.
Results: The patients’ mean age was 63.62±16.24 years. Of the patients, 87 (58%) were male, and 63 (42%) were female. A total of 93 (62%) patients were hospitalized, and 57 (38%) patients were discharged from the emergency department. When the comorbid diseases of the patients were considered, COPD was the most common comorbid disease in all patients, both hospitalized and discharged (62 [41.4%], 45 [30%], and 17 [11.4%], respectively). There was radiological infiltration in 84 (56%) hospitalized patients and 27 (18%) discharged patients. Sputum cultures were obtained from 42 (28%) hospitalized patients, and reproduction was detected in 11 (7.3%). Sputum cultures were obtained from 5 (3.3%) of 57 (38%) discharged patients, and there was no reproduction in any of these patients. A statistically significant difference was identified between patients' comorbid diseases, radiological infiltrations, reproduction in sputum cultures, and their hospitalization-discharge status.
Conclusion: The treatment of patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in the emergency department should be performed by hospitalizing them, especially in the presence of comorbid diseases, and detecting radiological infiltrations and reproduction in sputum cultures.
Key words: Community-acquired pneumonia, emergency department, hospitalization
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