The burden of hospitalisations for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults in Spain (2003–2007)

All hospital discharges and deaths related to CAP and pneumococcal-pneumonia from adults over 50 from 2003 to 2007 in Spain were obtained. Among the 447,670 Pneumonia-all causes discharges 17% were pneumococcal pneumonia. The annual hospitalisation rate was 6.27 and 1.09 cases per 1000, respectively. 75,932 deaths for Pneumonia-all causes and 9062 for pneumococcal-pneumonia were reported. CAP and pneumococcal pneumonia are major causes of morbidity and mortality in Spain, especially in the elderly. Despite current preventive measures, no significant changes in hospitalisation, mortality and case-fatality rates were found over the study period. Future preventive measures, like vaccination, could overcome these limitations.