OBJECTIVE: To describe the demographic, clinical, and microbiologic characteristics of @entity1 who develop @entity55 on general medical and surgical wards of a tertiary-care hospital. DESIGN: A 1-year, prospective, descriptive study. SETTING: A 1,100-bed, tertiary-care, urban hospital. POPULATION: @entity1 experiencing @entity55 were identified through surveillance on general medical and surgical wards, using a standard case definition. RESULTS: 92 @entity55 in 85 @entity1 on general wards were identified. The mean age of @entity1 was 63 +/- 17 years, 55 @entity1 (65%) were male, and 75 cases of @entity55 (81%) were acquired on surgical wards. @entity2259 was identified in 8 (13%) of 62 episodes, and 48 (52%) grew potential pathogens from respiratory specimens. Twenty-six @entity1 (28%) required transfer to the intensive-care unit (ICU), and 20 (22%) received mechanical ventilation. By multivariate analysis, @entity1 with a thoracic surgical procedure or with @entity794 isolated from respiratory secretions were more likely to require ICU admission. The overall mortality rate was 20% (17/85), with a directly associated mortality of 14% (12/85). @entity1 who died were older, more frequently resided on a medical ward, and had a greater mean number of comorbidities. These @entity1 often were treated nonaggressively and were not considered candidates for ICU admission due to advanced age and poor underlying clinical status. CONCLUSIONS: Although the morbidity of @entity55 in this population was high, as evidenced by high rates of transfer to ICU, the directly associated mortality was relatively low. Those requiring ICU admission require further study to identify preventive measures that could decrease the morbidity in this group. Interventions to prevent @entity55 or to improve prognosis may not be feasible for the majority of these @entity1 who die from @entity55 .

XXXX on general medical and surgical wards in a tertiary-care hospital.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients'] @entity2259 :: ('MESH:D016470', 'Disease') :: ['Bacteremia'] @entity794 :: ('1280', 'Species') :: ['Staphylococcus aureus'] @entity55 :: ('MESH:D011014', 'Disease') :: ['nosocomial pneumonia', 'pneumonia', 'pneumonias']
@entity55 :: (MESH:D011014,Disease) :: ['Nosocomial pneumonia']
