Influence of hospital characteristics on quality of care in patients with community-acquired pneumonia.

Principles: In-hospital care of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) varies across hospitals. Understanding of the underlying factors is the basis for tailored quality improvements. Using data from a randomised controlled Swiss-wide multicentre trial, we compared length of stay (LOS) and other patient outcomes according to (A) the use of a procalcitonin (PCT)-based antibiotic stewardship protocol, (B) institution type (university vs non-university), and (C) historical time period in relation to the introduction of Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) reimbursement (2012).