Pneumonia - Anatomy Of The Lung, Function Of The Respiratory System, Respiratory System Defenses, Conditions Predisposing To Pneumonia - Signs and symptoms of pneumonia, Treatment
common death including patients
Pneumonia is an infection of the lung, and can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In the United States, pneumonia is the sixth most common disease leading to death, and the most common fatal infection acquired by already hospitalized patients. In developing countries, pneumonia ties with diarrhea as the most common cause of death.
Pneumonia is suspected in any patient who presents with fever, cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, and increased respirations (number of breaths per minute). Fever with a shaking chill is even more suspicious, and many patients cough up clumps of mucus (sputum) which may appear streaked with pus or blood. Severe pneumonia results in the signs of oxygen deprivation, including blue appearance of the nail beds (cyanosis).
Bacterial pneumonia prior to the discovery of penicillin antibiotics was a virtual death sentence. Today, antibiotics, especially given early in the course of the disease, are very effective against bacterial causes of pneumonia. Erythromycin and tetracycline improve recovery time for symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia, but do not eradicate the organisms. Amantadine and acyclovir may be helpful against certain viral pneumonias.
Additional Topics
In order to better understand pneumonia, it is important to understand the basic anatomic features of the respiratory system. The human respiratory system begins at the nose and mouth, where air is breathed in (inspired), and out (expired). The air tube extending from the nose is called the nasopharynx; the tube carrying air breathed in through the mouth is called the oropharynx. The nasopharynx a…
The normal, healthy human lung is sterile, meaning that there are no normally resident bacteria or viruses (unlike the upper respiratory system and parts of the gastrointestinal system, where bacteria dwell even in a healthy state). There are multiple safeguards along the path of the respiratory system which are designed to keep invading organisms from leading to infection. The first line of defen…
In addition to exposure to sufficient quantities of causative organisms, certain conditions may predispose an individual to pneumonia. Certainly, the lack of normal anatomical structure could result in an increased risk of pneumonia. For example, there are certain inherited defects of cilia which result in less effective protection. Cigarette smoke, inhaled directly by a smoker or second-hand by a…
The list of organisms which can cause pneumonia is very large, and includes nearly every class of infecting organism: viruses, bacteria, bacteria-like organisms, fungi, and parasites (including certain worms). Different organisms are more frequently encountered by different age groups. Further, other characteristics of the host may place an individual at greater risk for infection by particular ty…
The invading organism causes symptoms, in part, by provoking an overly exuberant immune response in the lungs. The small blood vessels in the lungs (capillaries) become leaky, and protein-rich fluid seeps into the alveoli. This results in a less functional area for oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. The patient becomes relatively oxygen deprived, while retaining potentially damaging carbon dioxide. T…
Diagnosis is for the most part based on the patient's report of symptoms, combined with examination of the chest. Listening with a stethoscope will reveal abnormal sounds, and tapping on the patient's back (which should yield a resonant sound due to air filling the alveoli) may instead yield a dull thump if the alveoli are filled with fluid and debris. Laboratory diagnosis can be mad…
Because many bacterial pneumonias occur in patients who are first infected with the influenza virus (the flu), yearly vaccination against influenza can decrease the risk of pneumonia for certain patients, particularly the elderly and people with chronic diseases (such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, other lung or heart diseases, sickle cell disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and forms of cancer). A sp…
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about 1 year ago
thank you..