Distribution of Pathogens in Elderly Chinese Patients With Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

To summarize the distribution of pathogenic bacteria in elderly Chinese patients with pneumonia and provide guidance for the clinical application of antibiotics. The electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched. The primary outcomes included the prevalence of gram-positive cocci, gram-negative bacilli, and fungus. The summary prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random-effects model. A total of 17 retrospective studies reporting a total of 5,729 elderly patients with pneumonia were selected for final analysis. The summary prevalence of gram-positive cocci was 25% (95% CI: 20-30%; < 0.001), whereas the prevalence of gram-negative bacilli was 56% (95% CI: 46-67%; < 0.001). Moreover, the pooled prevalence of fungus in elderly patients with pneumonia was 11% (95% CI: 8-14%; < 0.001). The most common gram-positive cocci were (ES: 8%; 95% CI: 6-11%; <0.001), (ES: 7%; 95% CI: 6-8%; < 0.001), and (ES: 5%; 95% CI: 3-7%; < 0.001). (ES: 18%; 95% CI: 14-22%; <0.001) and (ES: 14%; 95% CI: 11-18%; <0.001) were most common gram-negative bacilli. Furthermore, the pooled prevalence of in elderly patients with pneumonia was 6% (95% CI: 5-8%; < 0.001). The findings demonstrated the comprehensive distribution of pathogenic bacteria in elderly Chinese patients with pneumonia, which could guide further antibiotic therapies.