Early, short and long-term mortality in community-acquired pneumonia

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a public health problem. Mortality associated with CAP remains high, even after excluding patients from nursing homes or those bedridden before CAP. According to the available studies, we can classify the timing of mortality of hospitalized patients with CAP as (I) early mortality (generally within the first 48 hours to 7 days after hospital admission); (II) short-term mortality (frequently measured in the first 28–30 days after diagnosis or during hospital admission); and (III) mortality occurring months or years after hospital discharge (long-term mortality). A considerable number of recognizable factors may impact CAP mortality. Importantly, the associated risk factors and the causes of mortality of patients with CAP can vary according to the time in which mortality is evaluated. Better understanding of predictors and causes may improve strategies for management and follow-up of CAP. In this article, we performed a narrative review about frequency, associated risk factors and causes of early, short and long-term mortality in CAP.