Comparing community acquired pneumonia between elderly population and others

To evaluate the manifestations and outcome of community acquired pneumonia in elderly population and compare it with other adults in two teaching hospitals.Patients and A prospective study including all patients over 14 years of age admitted to our hospitals with community acquired pneumonia, was carried out over a period of 12 months. All adult patients and over 65 years old (elderly patients) diagnosed with pneumonia were examined and followed by two of the authors distinctly. Analysis was performed, using chi square, in order to find correlations between signs and symptoms of pneumonia and age. Totally, 183 patients (103 elderly) were studied. The mean age of the participants (±SD) was 59±24 years. The main manifestations of pneumonia in elderly patients were as follow: tachypnea (64%), cough (62%), and fever (34%), respectively. Our results showed that the frequency of fever (p=0.04), chest pain (p=0.001), and pleuritic pain (p=0.001) decrease with aging, however, mental status changes (p=0.015), and CHF (p=0.02) increase with aging. Thirty one patients (17%) died, of whom 29 were over 65 years of age (p=0.001). The clinical presentations of pneumonia in the elderly population can be different from those in younger patients, therefore, it is important to be familiar with these differences to avoid unnecessary delays in prompt diagnosis.