Introduction:

One of the diseases whose course can be altered as a consequence of the nutritional status of the patient is community-acquired pneumonia.

Objective:

To determine the implications of different states of the body weight of patients hospitalized for pneumonia in the capacity to expectorate, in the state of severity at the time of admission and in the lethality due to the disease, taking into account the age of the patients.

Material and methods:

Descriptive study, with 967 patients hospitalized for community-acquired pneumonia between April 2016 and December 2019, whose body mass index was calculated. Bivariate and multivariate analysis (logistic regression) was performed; The ratio of crossed products (odds ratio) and its 95% confidence interval were used as the statistician.

Results:

A slightly significant association was observed between being overweight and age under 60 years (OR 1.3 [1.02;1.8]), and more evident between underweight and older adults (OR 2.3 [1.4,3.7]). Low weight was significantly associated with the inability to expectorate (OR 1.5 [1.1;2.1]), the state of severity at the time of admission (OR 2.1 [1.5;3]) and death of the patient (OR 2 [1.4,2.8]), specifically in older adults.

Conclusions:

Low body weight in older adults with pneumonia determines the inability to expectorate, a state of severity at the time of admission and a higher risk of death, which is why it constitutes an adverse prognostic factor.