[Risk factors associated with the duration of hospitalization in emergency admitted patients with aspiration pneumonia].

We retrospectively analyzed risk factors which affect the duration of hospitalization of patients who were given diagnoses of aspiration pneumonia and admitted on an emergency basis for 24 hours because of acute events in emergency. The research was conducted on 67 hospitalized patients aged 25-99. who were admitted because of aspiration pneumonia from March 2002 to May 2004. We analyzed the relationships between the duration of hospitalization and factors such as age, sex, severity of pneumonia, number of lobes with inflammation and the duration of tracheal intubation. The mean duration of hospitalization was 24.8 days which was approximately 1.6 times as long as that of all diseases in our hospital. Simple regression analysis suggested that the mean duration of hospitalization correlates significantly with age and the duration of hospitalization, while multiple regression analysis indicates that age is the only significant factor related to duration of hospitalization. However, there was no significant correlation between the duration of hospitalization and the severity of pneumonia. These data indicate that the duration of hospitalization is considerably affected by age, but not the treatment of pneumonia itself. Therefore we should pursue not only the appropriate treatment for aspiration pneumonia but also make an effort for early intervention in the support plan for discharge based on the social background of each elderly patient.