Journal of general internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Factors associated with the hospitalization of low-risk patients with community-acquired pneumonia in a cluster-randomized trial.
Many low-risk patients with pneumonia are hospitalized despite recommendations to treat such patients in the outpatient setting. ⋯ Hospital admission appears justified for one-third of low-risk inpatients based upon the presence of one or more contraindications to outpatient treatment. At least one-fifth of low-risk inpatients did not have a contraindication to outpatient treatment or an identifiable risk factor for hospitalization, suggesting that treatment of a larger proportion of such low-risk patients in the outpatient setting could be achieved without adversely affecting patient outcomes.