Among 100 Patients in Long-Term Care Hospitals, 5 Have 'Pneumonia'... Caution Advised for Long-Term Stays and Elderly

Big Data Analysis Based on National Health Insurance Service
Pneumonia Incidence Rate in Hospitals 1.13%... Caution Against Unnecessary Hospitalization

It was found that 1 out of every 100 patients hospitalized in a hospital contracts pneumonia within the hospital. In the case of long-term care hospitals, the incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia was nearly five times higher, highlighting the critical importance of infection control.

On the 24th, the Big Data Research and Development Office of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced the 'Big Data-Based Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Analysis Case' at the recent 'Health and Medical Big Data Utilization Performance Sharing Symposium.' This analysis was conducted using NHIS medical billing data to examine the incidence status of hospital-acquired pneumonia in 2023.

Analyzing 5,489,733 cases of hospitalizations lasting four days or more out of 12,656,490 hospitalizations last year, NHIS estimated that the incidence of pneumonia occurring within hospitals was 1.13%. The incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia, which was in the 7% range from 2018 to 2020, temporarily increased to 1.36% in 2021?2022 before slightly decreasing in 2023.

The incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia varied by type of care institution, with long-term care hospitals having the highest rate at 5.04%, followed by hospitals (0.80%), tertiary general hospitals (0.57%), general hospitals (0.45%), clinics (0.18%), and Korean medicine hospitals (0.05%). NHIS explained, "Long-term care hospitals are group facilities where infectious diseases can spread rapidly, and since most inpatients are elderly who are vulnerable to infections, the risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia is estimated to be high."

The incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia was higher in males at 1.23% compared to females at 1.04%, and by age group, the incidence rate for those aged 80 and above reached 3.10%, showing a trend of increasing incidence with age.

Additionally, the longer the hospitalization period, the higher the incidence rate of hospital-acquired pneumonia. For patients hospitalized for 300 days or more, the incidence rate was the highest at 7.17%. This suggests that longer hospital stays increase patients’ exposure risk to hospital-acquired pneumonia, negatively impacting their health condition.

NHIS stated, "This study is the world’s first to estimate the scale of hospital-acquired pneumonia at the national level using big data," and recommended, "While strengthening infection monitoring and prevention activities within long-term care hospitals, users should also avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, especially long-term stays."