The characteristics of patients with previous residence in mainland China admitted to the intensive care unit in Hong Kong with community-acquired pneumonia

Abstract

Objectives: To review the characteristics, outcomes, patterns of infection, and predictors of mortality in critically ill patients with community acquired pneumonia from the Mainland China requiring intensive care in Hong Kong Design: Retrospective cohort study Setting: A regional hospital in Hong Kong Patients: Critically ill patients who lived in the Mainland and were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of North District Hospital (NDH) from September 2008 to August 2010 Intervention: None Measurements and Results: Fifty one patients (median age, 50 years) were analyzed. It accounts for 4.1% of our annual ICU admission. The median APACHE II, SOFA, and CURB-65 scores are 24.5, 10.5, and 6 respectively. Most of these patients required mechanical ventilator support (n=42, 84%) in our unit. Pathogenic organisms can be identified in the majority of these patients (n=33, 66%). The most common organism was Streptococcus pneumoniae. Confusion, blood urea level greater than 7 mmol/L, and higher APACHE II / CURB-65 scores are considered as poor prognostic factors. Conclusions: Community acquired pneumonia is a common cause of intensive care admission among patients living in the Mainland with a significant mortality. Better understanding of their characteristics is important.