European Respiratory Society, European Respiratory Journal, 5(41), p. 1135-1140
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00046212
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Little recent information exists on sex-specific outcomes of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The objective of this study was to determine if female gender is indeed associated with better clinical outcomes in hospitalised patients with CAP.A secondary analysis was conducted of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Organization regarding male and female patients with CAP from 80 hospitals in 17 countries from June 1, 2001 to August 2, 2011. Outcomes were time to clinical stability (TCS), length of stay (LOS), and in-hospital and 28-day mortality. Propensity-adjusted, multivariable regression models were used to predict the probability of occurrence of each of the study outcomes.There were 6718 patients in this study; 40% female. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for TCS was 0.91 (95%CI 0.85-0.97; p=0.005). The aHR for LOS was 0.94 (95%CI 0.88-1.01; p=0.089). The adjusted risk ratio (aRR) for in-hospital mortality was 1.04 (95%CI 0.86-1.24); p=0.717, and for 28-day mortality was 1.15 (95%CI 1.02-1.30); p=0.018.This study demonstrates that epidemiology may be changing, and that females have worse outcomes for CAP than males. They are more likely to take longer to reach clinical stability, have longer hospital stays and 15% more likely to be dead after 28 days. Current pneumonia scoring systems may need to be revised regarding female mortality risk.