1999 Volume 73 Issue 6 Pages 570-577
To determine which factors are important in predicting the outcome of patients with severe pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation, we compared 43 surviving pneumonic patients with 37 non-surviving pneumonic patients.
The following results were obtained. The following characteristics were noted in the nonsurviving patients as compared with surviving patients; 1. a worsening of performance status in the background, 2. presence of physical signs such as hypotension and trachycardia, 3. abnormal laboratory data such as leukocytosis, lymphocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, hepatorenal dysfunction and metabolic acidosis, 4. presence of massive pulmonary infiltrations on chest roentgenograms, 5. a prevalence of resistant microorganisms for many antibiotics such as MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). These results suggest that the most important factor affecting the prognosis of patients with severe pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation may by the condition of the host and of the microorganisms rather than antibiotic treatment.
