Pneumonia Quality Measures
Timing of Antibiotic Administration
In 2009, the first dose of antibiotic therapy is administered within 6 hours or less of hospital admission for 96% of eligible pneumonia patients at Highland Hospital.
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.
