Causes of Death for Patients With Community-Acquired Pneumonia

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Abstract
PNEUMONIA COMBINED with influenza is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.1 Although the mortality rate from pneumonia decreased sharply with the introduction of antibiotic therapy in the 1940s, since 1950, the overall mortality rate for this illness has either remained stable or increased.2 In a meta-analysis3 of studies of prognosis, the short-term mortality of patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia ranged from 5.1% for patients treated in an ambulatory or hospital setting to 36.5% for patients treated in an intensive care unit.