Pneumonia Quality Measures
Fever and chills are common in persons who develop pneumonia,
with the temperature rising to as high as 106 degrees. Other symptoms, such
as rust-colored sputum, pain associated with breathing, weakness, and shortness
of breath, are also common with pneumonia. With antibiotic therapy, fever and
related symptoms usually begin to subside in 2 to 3 days, as the pneumonia-causing
bacteria are reduced in number. Careful antibiotic selection is vital in order
to penetrate the specific bacteria that caused the pneumonia (Porth, C. M. (Ed.).
(2005). Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins).
Multiple studies have demonstrated improved survival in
persons with pneumonia who receive antibiotics in a timely manner. A study
in the Archives
of Internal Medicine (March 2002: 162 (6); 682-688) indicates that
starting antibiotics in the emergency room, after careful consideration of
which antibiotic to use, can also reduce the number of days a person is hospitalized.
A
later study of 18,209 Medicare patients with community acquired pneumonia,
which was reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine (March 2004:164 (6); 637-644), demonstrates
shorter length of stay, reduced death and lower Hospitals cost for patients
who receive antibiotics within 4 hours.
At St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, the first dose of antibiotic therapy is administered within
8 hours or less of Hospital admission for
98 percent of eligible pneumonia patients.