According to a secondary analysis of a randomized trial, two factors have been found to be associated with a greater risk for antibiotic failure in clinically stable patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). These factors include age and sex.

In around 300 CAP patients who were stable after 3 days of beta-lactam treatment, the rate of treatment failure was 26.8% at 15 days. Multivariable analysis after adjustment for Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) scoring and baseline urea level revealed that male sex (OR 1.92, 95% 1.08-3.49) and age (OR 1.02 per year, 95% CI 1.00-1.05) were predictors of treatment failure, and were independent of duration of antibiotic therapy or biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. The results were published in JAMA Network Open… (Medpage Today)