Clinical picture and prognostic factors for severe community-acquired pneumonia in adults admitted to the intensive care unit

OBJECTIVE: In Chile very little information is available on severe community-acquired pneumonia treated in intensive care units. This study describes the clinical picture, prognostic factors, and treatment of adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit for severe community-acquired pneumonia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 113 consecutive patients were included in this prospective, descriptive study. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the 113 patients was 73 (15). Of these, 95% had associated comorbidity, and 81% were in the high-risk classes of the Pneumonia Severity Index. Etiology was identified in 31%, and the most common pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae (40%), gram negative bacilli (17%), and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (6%). The main complications were the need for mechanical ventilation (45%), septic shock (26%), heart failure (24%), and arrhythmias (15%). Mortality at 30 days was 16.8%, and multivariate analysis revealed the following factors to be associated with a greater risk of death: acute renal failure (odds ratio: 5.1), and glycemia above 300 mg/dL (odds ratio: 7.2). CONCLUSIONS: The patients with severe pneumonia admitted to the intensive care unit are elderly, with a high level of comorbidity and complications, but most survive.