Volume 18, Number 11—November 2012
Letter
Pneumonia after Earthquake, Japan, 2011
Hiroshi Takahashi, Shigeru Fujimura
, Satoshi Ubukata, Eizaburo Sato, Makoto Shoji, Mutsuko Utagawa, Toshiaki Kikuchi, and Akira Watanabe
, Satoshi Ubukata, Eizaburo Sato, Makoto Shoji, Mutsuko Utagawa, Toshiaki Kikuchi, and Akira Watanabe
Table
Characteristics of patients with pneumonia before and after the earthquake and tsunami, Japan, 2011*
| Characteristic |
Weeks before disaster
|
Weeks after disaster
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4–6 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–6 | 7–9 | ||
| Patients with pneumonia, no. | 26 | 23 | 83 | 51 | 38 | |
|
CAP |
20 | 19 | 57 | 39 | 24 | |
|
HCAP |
6
|
4
|
|
26
|
12
|
14
|
| Isolates from sputum culture, no. (%) | ||||||
|
Streptococcus pneumoniae |
8 (30.8) | 2 (8.7) | 19 (22.9) | 10 (19.6) | 4 (10.5) | |
|
Haemophilus influenzae |
4 (15.4) | 4 (17.4) | 27 (32.5) | 8 (15.7) | 4 (10.5) | |
|
Moraxella catarrhalis |
1 (3.8)
|
0
|
|
26 (31.3)
|
9 (17.7)
|
3 (7.9)
|
|
Purulent sputum, (Geckler 4 or 5), %
|
14 (53.8)
|
10 (43.5)
|
|
51 (61.4)
|
24 (47.1)
|
16 (42.1)
|
|
Mean age, y
|
73.7
|
76.0
|
|
75.5
|
76.0
|
74.9
|
| Location of patient at illness onset, no. | ||||||
|
Shelter |
NA | NA | 36 | 13 | 6 | |
|
Own or friend’s home |
NA | NA | 37 | 29 | 23 | |
|
Nursing home / home visit by doctor |
NA
|
NA
|
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
| Patient’s hospital status, no. | ||||||
|
New patient |
7 | 3 | 32 | 19 | 20 | |
|
Routinely examined at hospital |
19
|
20
|
|
51
|
32
|
18
|
|
Rate of hospital admission, %
|
76.9
|
73.9
|
|
77.1
|
64.7
|
78.9
|
|
Deaths, no. (%)
|
3 (11.5)
|
1 (4.3)
|
|
6 (7.2)
|
2 (3.9)
|
3 (7.9)
|
| Underlying disease, % | ||||||
|
Respiratory disease |
8(30.8) | 12 (52.2) | 29 (34.9) | 19 (37.3) | 13 (34.2) | |
|
Other |
18 (69.2) | 11 (47.8) | 54 (65.0) | 31 (60.8) | 23 (60.5) | |
|
Healthy |
1 (3.8)
|
0
|
|
8 (9.6)
|
5 (9.8)
|
2 (5.3)
|
|
Interval from onset to diagnosis, mean no. days
|
3.96
|
2.43
|
|
2.51
|
3.22
|
2.89
|
| Antimicrobial premedication, no., % | 2 (7.7) | 0 | 4 (4.8) | 11 (21.6) | 3 (7.9) | |
*CAP, community-acquired pneumonia; HCAP; health care–acquired pneumonia; NA, not applicable.
Page created: October 09, 2012
Page updated: October 09, 2012
Page reviewed: October 09, 2012
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