Distribution of Pathogens in Elderly Chinese Patients With Pneumonia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Frontiers in Medicine)

Background: To summarize the distribution of pathogenic bacteria in elderly Chinese patients with pneumonia and provide guidance for the clinical application of antibiotics.Methods: The electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched. The primary outcomes included the prevalence of gram-positive cocci, gram-negative bacilli, and fungus. The summary prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using the random-effects model.Results: A total of 17 retrospective studies reporting a total of 5,729 elderly patients with pneumonia were selected for final analysis. The summary prevalence of gram-positive cocci was 25% (95% CI: 20–30%; p < 0.001), whereas the prevalence of gram-negative bacilli was 56% (95% CI: 46–67%; p < 0.001). Moreover, the pooled prevalence of fungus in elderly patients with pneumonia was 11% (95% CI: 8–14%; p < 0.001). The most common gram-positive cocci were Staphylococcus aureus (ES: 8%; 95% CI: 6–11%; p