Short- and long-term functional outcome of hospitalized older adults with community-acquired pneumonia

Little is known about the functional outcome of elderly adults hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). From a prospectively collected database, potential subjects were identified who met criteria for CAP and for whom activities of daily living (ADL) were quantified for the month before hospitalization and 1 month and 6 months postdischarge. Seventy-nine patients met the inclusion criteria for our study. The mean age was 79.9 ± 6.1 years, and the mean ADL score 1 month before hospitalization was 12.9 ± 1.8. Twenty-two patients (28%) had a decline in their ADL score 1 month postdischarge, and the ADL decline persisted in 13 (60%) of 22 patients at 6 months postdischarge. Functional decline is common postdischarge in elderly patients hospitalized with CAP, and it can persist for up to 6 months after the illness.