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Program for seniors helps reduce pneumonia hospitalization

Respiratory Care Weekly, June 7, 2006

Establishing a chest x-ray program within a nursing home reduces hospitalizations related to pneumonia and lower respiratory tract infections, according to the June 7 Journal of the American Medical Association. Mark Loeb, MD, MSc, of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, designed a screening program to catch the illnesses before they required hospitalization. His program, coupled with onsite treatment that included typical care such as oral antimicrobials, portable chest radiographs, oxygen saturation monitoring, rehydration, and close nursing monitors, more than halved the rate of hospitalization compared to a usual care control group.

"These data have important implications for the delivery of healthcare services for both long-term care facilities and acute-care hospitals," the authors wrote. "Treating nursing home residents with pneumonia with the clinical pathway can reduce the burden to emergency departments and inpatient hospital units, particularly during influenza season when many nursing home residents with pneumonia are frequently sent to the hospital."

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