Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine factors associated with the decision to treat elderly long-term care patients with pneumonia in the hospital vs in the long-term care facility (LTCF) and factors associated with patient outcomes.
DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.
SETTING: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged.
PATIENTS: Nursing home residents who had an episode of pneumonia, defined as a new respiratory sign or symptom and a new infiltrate.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The majority of the 316 pneumonia episodes (78%) were managed in the LTCF, most (77%) with oral antibiotics. Both patient-related factors, such as elevated respiratory rate, and non-patient-related factors, such as evening evaluation, were associated with hospitalization. No patient who had a do-not-hospitalize (DNH) order was hospitalized. Equal proportions of patients given LTCF therapy (87%) and hospital therapy (88%) survived. Elevated respiratory rate was associated with dying from pneumonia in the LTCF but not in the hospital. Dependent functional status was associated with dying from pneumonia in both sites.
CONCLUSIONS: Many episodes of pneumonia can be managed in the LTCF with oral antibiotics. Because, in the absence of DNH orders, both patient-related and non-patient-related factors are associated with hospital transfer, discussion regarding preferences for hospitalization should occur prior to the development of an acute illness. A high respiratory rate may be a good marker for those LTCF patients requiring hospitalization. Dependent functional status may be a good marker for those LTCF patients unlikely to benefit from hospital transfer.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Price LE, Sarubbi FA Jr, Rutala WA. Infection control programs in twelve North Carolina extended care facilities. Infect Control. 1985;6:437–41.
Zimmer JG, Eggert GM, Treat A, Brodows B, Hyg MS. Nursing homes as acute care providers: a pilot study of incentives to reduce hospitalizations. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1988;36:124–9.
Farber BF, Brennen C, Puntereri AJ, Brody JP. A prospective study of nosocomial infections in a chronic care facility. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1984;32:499–502.
Katz P, Beam T, Brand F, Boyce K. Antibiotic use in the nursing home. Arch Intern Med. 1990;150:1465–8.
Phillips SL, Branaman-Phillips J. The use of intramuscular cefoperazone versus intramuscular ceftriaxone in patients with nursing home-acquired pneumonia. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1993;41:1071–4.
Ouslander JG, Osterweil D, Morley J. Medical Care in the Nursing Home. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991:237.
Yoshikawa TT. Antimicrobial therapy for the elderly patient. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1990;38:1353–72.
Creditor MC. Hazards of hospitalizations of the elderly. Ann Intern Med. 1993;118:219–23.
Gillick MR, Serrell NA, Gillick LS. Adverse consequences of hospitalization in the elderly. Soc Sci Med. 1982;16:1033–8.
Steele K, Gertman PM, Crescenzi C, Anderson J. Iatrogenic illness on a general medical service at a university hospital. N Engl J Med. 1981;304:638–42.
Mehr DR, Foxman B, Colombo P. Risk factors for mortality from lower respiratory infections In nursing home patients. J Fam Pract. 1992;34:585–91.
Charlson ME, Pompei P, Ales KL, MacKenzie CR. A new method of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: development and validation. J Chron Dis. 1987;40:373–83.
Farr BM, Sloman AJ, Fisch MJ. Predicting death in patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia. Ann Intern Med. 1991;115:428–36.
Fine MJ, Orloff JJ, Arisumi D, et al. Prognosis of patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. Am J Med. 1990;88:5-1N–5-8N.
Lichtenstein MJ, Federspiel CF, Schaffner W. Factors associated with early demise in nursing home residents: a case—control study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1989;37:173–83.
Wolinsky FD, Callahan CM, Fitzgerald JF, Johnson RJ. Changes in functional status and the risks of subsequent nursing home placement and death. J Gerontol. 1993;48:S94-S101.
Mayer-Oakes SA, Oye RK, Leake B. Predictors of mortality in older patients following medical intensive care: the importance of functional status. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1991;39:862–8.
Fabiszewski KJ, Volicer B, Volicer L. Effect of antibiotic treatment on outcome of fevers in institutionalized Alzheimer patients. JAMA. 1990;263:3168–72.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by a grant from the Research Development Core of the Harvard Geriatric Research and Training Center.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fried, T.R., Gillick, M.R. & Lipsitz, L.A. Whether to transfer?. J Gen Intern Med 10, 246–250 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599879
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599879