2Ankara Numune Hospital Infection Clinic ANKARA
3Giresun Univ. Dept. of Infection GIRESUN Introduction: Infections are one of the most important reasons for hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality among geriatric patients.
Materials and Method: The present study, retrospectively evaluated demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, and distribution of infections in patients aged 65 years who were hospitalized for treatment between January – 1, 2010 and December – 31, 2015, at the infectious diseases and clinical microbiology department of Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital.
Results: Overall, 853 geriatric patients were included in this study, with 435 (51%) woman and 418 (49%) men, the mean age was 76.8 ± 7.3 years, and 86.2% of patients had at least one comorbid chronic disease. Hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus were most common comorbidities, and most common reasons for hospitalization included pneumonia (37.9%), urinary tract infection (22.9%) and cellulitis (7.7%). Moreover, beta-lactam antibiotics (88.2%), quinolones (21.1%) and macrolides (19.6%) were most frequent antibiotics used for treatment. The average length of hospital stay was 6.8 ± 5.1 days. Overall, 17 (2%) patients died during the study, 62 (7.3%) were transferred to other clinics, 53 patients (6.2%) were transferred to intensive care units, 51 (6%) were discharged with their current medical status, 670 (78.5%) were discharged with full recovery. Nursing home stay and being transferred from intensive care units were independent risk factors for mortality (p = 0.001).
Conclusion: The number of geriatric patients and their mean age are increasing as life expectancy increases. Advanced age and underlying diseases are predisposing factors for infections, and consequently, infections are one of the most common causes of hospitalization in elderly patients.
Keywords : Geriatrics; Aged; Infection