PNEUMONIA

WHAT IS PNEUMONIA?

• The lungs become infected causing air sacs to be filled in the lungs along with fluid
• The infection may affect only one part of the lung but sometimes can affect both of the lungs

SYMPTOMS

• A high fever
• A cough with yellow, green, or a blood-stained sputum
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain that is worse after a deep breath or cough
• Shaking chills

CAUSES

• Tuberculosis
• Viruses
• Fungus
• Bacteria- there are many types of bacteria that are involved with pneumonia but half of the cases are due to Streptococcus pneumonic
• In rare cases, parasites
• Influenza

Diagnosis

• Pneumonia often occurs a few days after a cold
• Physical examinations include: observing the breathing rate, which is often fast and shallow. Tapping the chest reveals that the affected part of the lung sounds dull, because the lung is filled with fluid.

Diagnosis Continued..

• Further investigations: chest x-ray to confirm presence of infection, microscope examination of a sputum sample to identify bacteria, blood tests to mea sure the white cell count, more specific tests which detect antibodies produced in response to a specific organism, and arterial blood test to measure circulating oxygen levels.

Treatment

• Pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics, but these are only effective if the pneumonia is due to bacterium
• The choice of antibiotics depends on the bacterium. The choice of drug also depends on many other factors, such as: whether the patient has an allergy, whether there is a kidney or liver damage, where the patient is pregnant.
• Most patients can be treated with a seven day course of a single antibiotic

Treatment continued..

• Patients who have a severe form of pneumonia may need more than one type of antibiotic

Prognosis

• In the past, pneumonia was common cause of death to adults, but nowadays, young, previously healthy people with simple pneumonia tend to recover completely within two to three weeks.
• In some cases however, pneumonia may be fatal (either due to the patient being frail or the pneumonia itself is severe,) which makes it increasingly difficult to diagnose.

Prevention

• Smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol to excess should be avoided
• Care should be taken when handling certain animals
• Vulnerable groups are given flu vaccinations.