Pneumonia Case Study

EH is a 68-year-old male who comes into the clinic complaining of a fever with a temperature of 103 °F. He has had a cough for the last three days that is producing some thick green brown mucous. The MD feels he most likely has bacterial pneumonia. He also has a history of having rheumatoid arthritis, and being immune compromised as he is on an immunosuppressant methotrexate. He has noted that over the last year he has lost weight unintentionally and feels he is underweight.

Each bronchus then divides again forming the bronchial tubes. The bronchial tubes lead directly into the lungs where they divide into many smaller tubes which connect to tiny sacs called alveoli. The average adult's lungs contain about 600 million of these spongy, air-filled sacs that are surrounded by capillaries. The inhaled oxygen passes into the alveoli and then diffuses through the capillaries into the arterial blood. Meanwhile, the waste-rich blood from the veins releases its carbon dioxide into the alveoli. The carbon dioxide follows the same path out of the lungs when you exhale.

Anyone can get pneumonia, but elderly, infants, and those with weakened immune system are at a higher risk. Pneumonia is commonly a complication of an upper respiratory system infection such as the influenza virus. Pneumonia often starts with symptoms that are typical of a common cold, like sore throat, nasal congestion and cough. As the infection develops in the lungs, symptoms such as fever, difficulty breathing, fatigue, wheezing, dry cough, shaking chills,

The clinical manifestations of pneumonia will be different according to the causative organism and the patient’s underlying conditions and/or comorbidities (Smeltzer, et al). Some of the manifestations are

This paper explores Pneumonia and the respiratory disease process associated with bacterial and viral pathogens most commonly located in the lung. The paper examines the process, symptoms and treatments most commonly viewed in patient cases of Pneumonia. My goal is to educate the reader and to warn of the

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. There are many subcategories for pneumonia but in this paper I will be talking about chronic pneumonia. Everyone shows symptoms of pneumonia differently. The most common symptoms include coughing, fever, and shortness of breath. Less common include chest pain, headache, Fusion, or fatigue. Chronic pneumonias are usually caused by slow-growing organisms such as fungi or microorganisms. Some cases of chronic pneumonia can't be diagnosed even by biopsies of lung tissue. There are four main causes of chronic pneumonia. Histoplasmosis is a fungus commonly found in soil and is associated with bird droppings. It cannot be passed person to person and can cause both acute

fungal pneumonia usually most often experienced by people who have weakened immune systems and people with chronic diseases. Infection is through the air that is inhaled through the nose is not filtered properly. dirty air could be from a residential area or in the

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung which results into an excess of fluid or pus accumulating into the alveoli of the lung. Pneumonia impairs gas exchange which leads to hypoxemia and is acquire by inhaling a contagious organism or an irritating agent. (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). Fungal, bacteria and viruses are the most common organisms that can be inhale. Pneumonia could be community-acquired or health care associated. Community –acquired pneumonia (CAP) occurs out of a healthcare facility while health care associated pneumonia (HAP) is acquired in a healthcare facility. HAP are more resistant to antibiotic and patients on ventilators and those receiving kidney dialysis have a higher risk factor. Infants, children and the elderly also have a higher risk of acquiring pneumonia due to their immune system inability to fight the virus. Pneumonia can also be classified as aspiration pneumonia if it arises by inhaling saliva, vomit, food or drink into the lungs. Patients with abnormal gag reflex, dysphagia, brain injury, and are abusing drug or alcohol have a higher risk of aspiration pneumonia (Mayo Clinic, 2013). In the case of patient E.O., this patient had rhonchi in the lower lobe and the upper lobe sound was coarse and diminished. Signs and symptoms of pneumonia include difficulty breathing, chest pain, wheezing, fever, headache, chills, cough, confusion, pain in muscle or

Small air sacks called alveoli are at the tips of the bronchioles. When air reaches them, the oxygen concentration is high, which causes diffusion into red blood cells travelling through pulmonary capillaries (7). The red blood cells then distribute the new oxygen to the rest of the body. When they reach the alveoli again, they exchange carbon dioxide (a form of cell waste) for new oxygen, and repeat the process. The carbon dioxide is moved through the bronchioles, bronchi, and trachea in the form of exhalation.

Pneumonia is an illness of the lower respiratory tract in which the lungs become inflamed and congested and alveolar spaces are filled with fluid and cells-polymorphs and lymphocytes (Mandell L.A). It is an inflammatory condition of the lung and it is one of the most serious infections, causing two million deaths annually among the young and elderly. Pneumonia is the largest killer, accounting for 28% to 34% of all child deaths below five years of age in low-income countries and is an important cause of mortality in the elderly in high-income countries (Suárez).

Your physician will diagnose pneumonia based on your medical history, a physical exam, and test results. Your doctor will listen to your lung sounds and if you have pneumonia your lungs may have a crackling or rumbling sound when you inhale. Wheezing may also, be heard. Then he/she may obtain a CXR to determine inflammation in your lungs. A complete blood count is ordered to see if your immune system is fighting an infection. Also, blood cultures are ordered to find out whether you have a bacterial infection that has spread to your bloodstream, then your MD can determine how to treat the infection. There are many different types of pneumonia. Pneumonia is named for the way in which a person gets the infection or the germ that can cause the infection. There is community-acquired which is the most common type of pneumonia. These cases occur during winter months and occurs outside of the hospital. Hospital-acquired pneumonia is more serious than community-acquired pneumonia because hospitals carry more germs that are resistant to antibiotics. Atypical pneumonia is a type of community-acquired pneumonia being that it is caused by lung infections that include bacteria like Legionella pneumophila and Mycoplasma. (Sept,2016).The type of pneumonia you have and how severe the pneumonia you have determines the treatment. Antibiotics are the norm for treatment of bacterial pneumonia. Most begin to improve after one to three days of antibiotic treatment. If there is viral pneumonia, antibiotics will not work. Antiviral medications will need to be initiated. One to three weeks is the duration of treatment. Vaccines are available to prevent pneumonia caused by the flu virus and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that "adults who are sixty-five and older should have two pneumococcal vaccinations. It is usually given between September through November which is called the flu

Mycoplasma Pneumonia is the most common pneumonia ranging in older kids and younger adults. This type of lung infection goes by many different names such as Walking Pneumonia, Eaton Agent Pneumonia and Primary Atypical Pneumonia. Mycoplasma Pneumoniae is one of the smallest living organisms that can reproduce outside of a cell but, prefers to have a host and to be parasitic. Mycoplasma pneumoniae likes to party in the late summer and early fall especially in communities but is still found in the other seasons.

Pneumonia is a lung inflammation in which the air sacs (alveoli) get filled with pus which might become solid. The invader colonizes itself in the place where gases exchanges take place. Since an invasion is present the immune system starts fighting to get rid of the infection and the sacs get filled with fluid and pus. The inflammation can affect both lung, one, or any certain lobe. Breathing becomes difficult the patients can also develop a chronic cough, fatigue, chest pains, and fast breathing (feels like drowning). The bacterium Streptococcus pneumonia usually causes it other types are Mycoplasma pneumoniae which is referred to as “walking pneumonia.”Viruses that can lead to pneumonia are influenza (type A) in adults and in children respiratory

The respiratory system is the process responsible for the transportation and exchange of gases into and out of the human body. As we breath in, oxygen in the air containing oxygen is drawn into the lungs through a series of air pipes known as the airway and into the lungs. As air is drawn into the lungs and waste gas excreted, it passes through the airway, first through the mouth or nose and through the pharynx, larynx and windpipe – also known as the trachea. At this point it then enters the lungs through the bronchi before finally reaching the air sacs known as alveoli. Within the lungs, through a process known as diffusion, the oxygen is transferred to the blood stream through the alveoli (air ducts) where it is then transported inside

An infection of one or both the lungs refers to Pneumonia. The major causes of pneumonia are germs like bacteria, virus, and fungi. The alveoli (air sacs) of an infected person’s lungs are inflated with fluids or pus. Pneumonia spreads in several ways. The viruses and bacteria found in airborne droplets transmitted due to coughing and sneezing, when inhaled can cause pneumonia. It is also transmitted through blood, especially during and shortly after birth. Research is still underway on the other pathogens that possibly cause the disease.