Use of antibiotics and factors associated with treatment failure among 152,245 patients with pneumonia treated in the community — a retrospective cohort study

This study aims to evaluate risk factors associated with treatment failure and the antibiotics prescribed by primary care physicians in a large patient cohort treated for pneumonia in the community. A retrospective cohort study based on the databases of Maccabi Healthcare Services that provide healthcare to a quarter of the Israeli population. Included patients were > 12 years and diagnosed with pneumonia in the outpatient setting. Cohort 1 included patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), whereas cohort 2 included patients with a documented pneumonia diagnosis following hospital discharge. Treatment failure (TF) was defined as either the use of a second line antibiotic OR hospital admission within 3–14 days OR death within 30 days of diagnosis. Risk factors for TF in the study cohorts were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. During the study period, 148,376 patients were included in cohort 1 and 3,869 patients in cohort 2, with mean ages of 46.5 ± 20.3 and 63.8 ± 19.5 years, respectively. The most commonly used antibiotics were cephalosporins (36%) and macrolides (35.5%). TF occurred in 12% of cohort 1 and was associated with older age, comorbid conditions, use of non-respiratory fluoroquinolones, and penicillin. Atypical coverage (either macrolides or tetracyclines) was associated with a lower risk of failure. Among cohort 2, TF was higher (16.4%, p < 0.001) and was associated with older age, prior cancer, and congestive heart failure. Treatment failure was associated with comorbid conditions and increasing age. Among young patients with CAP and no comorbid conditions, macrolides or tetracyclines may suffice.