Survival at 3, 6 and 12 months in patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia in Colombia: a retrospective cohort study

Background: The primary aim of this study is to assess the survival rates of individuals diagnosed with Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) post-hospitalization in Colombia. Additionally, explore potential risk factors associated with decreased long-term survival. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a hospital in Colombia, evaluating survival at 3, 6 and 12 months in CAP patients, using the Kaplan–Meier method. Stratifications were made by age, sex, comorbidity, and severity. The comparison of survival curves was performed using the Log-Rank test, a multivariate analysis with Cox regression was performed to study possible risk factors that affected 12-month survival in patients with CAP. Results: 3688 subjects were admitted, with a mortality of 16.3 % per year. Survival at three, six, and twelve months was 92.9 % (95 % CI 92–93 %), 88.8 % (95 % CI 87–90 %), and 84.2 % (95 % CI 82–85 %), respectively. Analysis stratified by pneumonia severity index, 12-month survival was 98.7 % in Class I, 95.6 % in Class II, 87.41 % in Class III, 77.1 % in Class IV, and 65.8 % in class-V (p < 0.001). Cox-regression showed that being male (HR = 1.44; 95 % CI 1.22‒1.70; p < 0.001), an elevated pneumonia severity index (HR = 4.22; 95 % CI 1.89‒9.43; p < 0.001), a high comorbidity index (HR = 2.29; 95 % CI 1.89‒2.84; p < 0.001) and vasopressor requirement (HR = 2.22; 95 % CI < 0.001) were associated with a lower survival at twelve months of follow-up. Conclusion: Survival in patients with CAP who require hospitalization decreases at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up, being lower in patients older than 65 years, men, high comorbidity, and in subjects with severe presentation of the disease.