Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of patients admitted with lower respiratory tract infections.
| Pneumonia (n = 557) |
Other lower respiratory tract infections∗
(n = 366) |
p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | |||
| Age, years | 72 (56–80) | 79 (71–85) | <0.01 |
| Gender, male | 349 (63) | 232 (54) | 0.84 |
| Comorbidity (Charlson index) | 4 (2–6) | 6 (4–7) | <0.01 |
|
| |||
| Clinical variables | |||
| Days of symptoms | 4 (2–7) | 4 (2–7) | 0.27 |
| Previous antibiotic treatment | 164 (33) | 100 (30) | 0.40 |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 98 (84–110) | 97 (84–110) | 0.56 |
| Respiratory rate (rpm) | 28 (24–32) | 28 (24–32) | 0.79 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 123 (109–140) | 133 (116–146) | <0.01 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 69 (60–78) | 71 (63–82) | <0.01 |
| Temperature (°C) | |||
| No fever (<37°C) | 197 (35) | 219 (60) | <0.01 |
| Low-grade fever (37-38°C) | 163 (29) | 87 (24) | |
| High-grade fever (>38°C) | 197 (35) | 60 (16) | |
|
| |||
| Laboratory findings | |||
| Basal pO2(mmHg) | 61 (55–70) | 62 (55–72) | 0.19 |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 187 (123–278) | 59 (24–108) | <0.01 |
| Leukocyte count (×109/L) | 13.3 (9.27–17.65) | 10.8 (7.97–13.30) | <0.01 |
| Creatinine (mg/dL) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | 0.9 (0.7–1.2) | 0.01 |
|
| |||
| Microbiology findings | |||
| Microorganism found | 169 (30.3%) | 30 (8.9%) | <0.01 |
|
| |||
| Follow-up | |||
| Days in hospital | 6 (4–10) | 6 (4–9) | 0.05 |
| Intensive care unit transfers | 37 (7) | 4 (1) | <0.01 |
| In-hospital mortality | 31 (6) | 16 (4) | 0.45 |
Quantitative variables are shown as medians (IQR 25–75) and qualitative variables as absolute numbers (percentages). ∗Other lower respiratory tract infections included acute bronchitis and acute exacerbations of COPD.