[Home intravenous antibiotic treatment: a study in 515 patients].

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of therapy, type of infection, hospital department of origin and outcome of 515 cases of infection requiring home intravenous antibiotic therapy treated by the home care service.

Methods: The clinical records of patients undergoing intravenous antibiotic therapy through the home care service over a 6-year period were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: A total of 439 patients (244M/195F; mean age, 55.

[Pneumonia in the elderly. Factors related with the mortality during the episode and after the discharge].

Background And Objective: Pneumonia in the elderly (PIE) is a growing disease that causes great morbidity and mortality with frequent admissions to hospital and increasing health costs. The objective of our study was yo analyze the characteristics of PIE in an internal medicine hospital ward, the influence of quality of life (Katz index and scale of Karnofsky) on its evolution and after the discharge and the factors of poor prognosis during the episode of PIE and throughout the ambulatory follow-up.

Patients And Method: All the patients suffering from PIE admitted to the internal medicine ward of our hospital during a two years period were included in the study (125).

[Treatment of congestive heart failure in the setting of hospital at home. Study of 158 patients].

Background And Objective: Hospital at Home might become a suitable alternative to traditional hospital admissions for several exacerbated chronic diseases. Congestive heart failure represents an important workload at the hospital level. In this study we present the results of our experience with congestive heart failure patients attended in Hospital at Home regimen during the period 1999-2001.