: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common emergency presentation in Australia, with the choice of admitting specialty unit often influenced by pneumonia severity and comorbidities. However, it remains unclear whether there are between-specialty differences in patient characteristics and outcomes. We sought to address this issue by investigating the characteristics and outcomes of CAP patients admitted to General Medicine (GM) versus Respiratory units. : This retrospective observational study utilised data from the two largest metropolitan hospitals in South Australia, encompassing all non-COVID-19-related CAP admissions throughout 2021 to 2023. The hospital length of stay (LOS), in-patient and 30-day mortality, and 30-day readmission rates were assessed by propensity score matching (PSM) using 17 variables. : Of the 3004 cases of non-COVID-19 CAP admitted across the two hospitals during the study period, 2673 (71.8%) were admitted under GM units and 331 (9.1%) under Respiratory units. GM patients were, on average, a decade older, presented with a significantly higher burden of comorbidities, exhibited a greater prevalence of frailty, and had higher pneumonia severity compared to those admitted under a Respiratory unit ( < 0.05). Unadjusted analysis revealed a shorter median LOS among GM-admitted patients (5.9 vs. 4.1 days, < 0.001). After PSM adjustment, patients admitted under the Respiratory units had an 8-fold higher odds of a longer LOS compared to GM (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 8.53, 95% CI 1.96-37.25, = 0.004). Other clinical outcomes were comparable between the two groups. : Our findings indicate that GM units compared to Respiratory units provide efficient and safe care for patients requiring hospitalisation for CAP.
