Factors associated with hospitalization for community-acquired pneumonia in home health care patients in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a leading cause of hospitalization and death worldwide. However, studies focusing on risk factors of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the home health care (HHC) population remain scarce. AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP among HHC patients in Taiwan. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study extracted data from patients’ electronic medical records between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to explore factors associated with hospitalization for CAP. RESULTS: In total, 598 patients (men/women: 236/362) were included. One hundred ninety-nine patients (33.28%) were hospitalized for pneumonia. Inpatients showed a higher proportion of the following: male sex, functional impairment, hypoalbuminemia, anemia, nasogastric tube use, excessive polypharmacy, stroke, dementia, heart failure, chronic respiratory disease, and chronic liver disease. Furthermore, nasogastric tube use (odds ratio [OR] 3.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88–4.82), anemia (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.48–3.80), male sex (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.43–3.20), chronic respiratory disease (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.33–3.30), dementia (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.27–2.97), heart failure (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.11–2.56), and hypoalbuminemia (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.03–2.40) significantly increased the risk of hospitalization for CAP. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed risk factors associated with hospitalization for CAP in HHC patients. In addition to chronic diseases, malnutrition is an important risk factor. Caregivers should make prompt assessments and take preventive measures for such patients.