Diagnostic utility of appetite loss in addition to existing prediction models for community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly: a prospective diagnostic study in acute care hospitals in Japan

摘要

ObjectiveDiagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the elderly is often delayed because of atypical presentation and non-specific symptoms, such as appetite loss, falls and disturbance in consciousness. The aim of this study was to investigate the external validity of existing prediction models and the added value of the non-specific symptoms for the diagnosis of CAP in elderly patients.