Should nursing home-acquired pneumonia be treated as nosocomial pneumonia?

Objectives: It is contentious whether nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) should be treated as community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or health care-associated pneumonia. This study aimed to compare NHAP with CAP, and to examine whether multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria were significantly more common in NHAP than CAP.

Design: A prospective, observational cohort study

Setting: The medical unit of a tertiary teaching hospital

Participants: Patients 65 years and older, hospitalized for CAP and NHAP confirmed by radiographs from October 2009 to September 2010

Measurements: Demographic characteristics, Katz score, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), pneumonia severity (CURB score), microbiology, and clinical outcomes were measured.