Revista clínica española
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Revista clínica española · Dec 2007
Multicenter Study[Pneumonia in the elderly population over 70 years with limited functional condition: case-control study of institutionalized patients].
Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) of the elderly is an increasingly important growing health problem due to its prevalence and mortality. Among the factors that are usually related with poor evolution are advanced age, poor functional status and coming from a socio-health care institution such as residential homes for the elderly. In this study, we have chosen a population over 70 years of age with limited functional capacity (Barthel Index < 50) in order to know if coming from a residential home for the elderly is an isolated factor that is associated to worse prognosis of CAP. ⋯ In the elderly over 70 years with CAP, patients from assisted living residences have greater mortality. However, when functional capacity is bad (Barthel < 50), place or origin (community or elderly residence) loses importance and becomes a variable that has no more influence than others in the clinical evolution and course of the CAP.