What is Pneumonia |Pneumonia Definition
Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs. This makes the air sacs fill up with fluid or pus, causing cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing. A variety of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, can cause pneumonia.
The condition can range from seriousness to life-threatening. It is most serious for infants and young children, people older than age 65, and people with health problems or weakened immune systems.
Pneumonia Causes
It has been discovered that Pneumonia can be caused by a variety of germs (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites). Most cases, though, are caused by viruses. These include adenoviruses, rhinovirus, influenza virus (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and parainfluenza virus (which also can cause croup).
Often, pneumonia begins after an upper respiratory tract infection (an infection of the nose and throat), with symptoms starting after 2 or 3 days of a cold or sore throat. It then moves to the lungs. Fluid, white blood cells, and debris start to gather in the air spaces of the lungs and block the smooth passage of air, making it harder for the lungs to work well.
Kids with pneumonia caused by bacteria usually become sick fairly quickly, starting with a sudden high fever and unusually fast breathing.
Kids with pneumonia caused by viruses probably will have symptoms that appear more gradually and are less severe, though wheezing can be more common.
Some symptoms give important clues about which germ is causing the pneumonia. For example, in older kids and teens, pneumonia due to Mycoplasma (also called walking pneumonia) is very common and causes a sore throat, headache, and rash in addition to the usual symptoms of pneumonia.
In babies, pneumonia due to chlamydia may cause conjunctivitis (pinkeye) with only mild illness and no fever. When pneumonia is due to whooping cough (pertussis), a child may have long coughing spells, turn blue from lack of air, or make the classic “whoop” sound when trying to take a breath. Fortunately, the pertussis vaccine can help protect kids against whooping cough.
The length of time between exposure to the germ and when someone starts feeling sick varies, depending on which virus or bacteria is causing pneumonia (for instance, 4 to 6 days for RSV, but just 18 to 72 hours for the flu).
Pneumonia Types
This type of condition can be classified or characterized in different ways. Health care professionals often refer to pneumonia based upon the way that the infection is acquired. These includes:
- Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), as the name implies, is a respiratory infection of the lung that develops outside of the hospital or health care environment. It is more common than hospital-acquired pneumonia. CAP is most common in winter and affects about 4 million people a year in the U.S.
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Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is acquired when an individual is already hospitalized for another condition. HAP is generally more serious because it develops in ill patients already hospitalized or under medical care for another condition. Being on a ventilator for respiratory support increases the risk of acquiring HAP. Healthcare-associated pneumonia is acquired from other health care settings, like kidney dialysis centers, outpatient clinics, or nursing homes.
Other classification systems for pneumonia describe the way the inflammatory cells infiltrate the lung tissue or the appearance of the affected tissue (see the following examples). - Bronchopneumonia causes scattered, patchy infiltrates of inflammation in the air sacs throughout the lungs. It is more diffuse than lobar pneumonia.
- Lobar pneumonia causes inflammation of one lobe of a lung and typically involves all the airspaces in a single lobe.
- Lipoid pneumonia is characterized by the accumulation of fats within the airspaces. It can be caused by aspiration of oils or associated with airway obstruction.
Acute Pneumonia
This is an active infection of the lungs that results when an individual at risk gets exposed to a particular microbiological pathogen. Acute pneumonia is the leading cause of death in the United States that is attributable to an infection. The risk factors, pathogenesis, and microbiological organisms involved differ if pneumonia develops in the community versus healthcare-associated environment.
The development of concise and comprehensive guidelines has led to an improvement in the management of the problem. However, the emergence of multidrug-resistant organisms and the increase in the percentage of the elderly population keep mortality risk very substantial.
Severe Pneumonia
Anyone can get pneumonia, but many severe cases increase your chances of getting sick and having a more severe illness. One of the most important factors is your age. People age 65 and over are at increased risk because their immune system is becoming less able to fight off infection as years go by. Infants and children two years of age or younger are also at increased risk because their immune systems are not yet fully developed.
Other risk factors can be grouped into three main categories: medical conditions, health behaviors, and environment.
Pneumonia Vaccine | Pneumonia Shot
The most common and effective Pneumonia vaccine is the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) that protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. Before the vaccine was discovered, there were about 700 cases of meningitis, 13,000 bloodstream infections, and 200 deaths from the pneumococcal disease each year among children younger than 5 years old. After children started getting this vaccine, these numbers dropped quickly.
Pneumonia Vaccine Schedule
The following is what CDC recommends PCV13 for:
- All adults 65 years or older
- Adults 19 years or older with certain health conditions
Don’t get PCV13 if you have ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to:
- A dose of the vaccine
- An earlier pneumococcal vaccine called PCV7 (or Prevnar)
- Any vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid (for example, DTaP)
In addition, anyone with a severe allergy to any component of PCV13 should not get the vaccine.
Pneumonia Sign and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of pneumonia vary from mild to severe, depending on factors such as the type of germ causing the infection, and your age and overall health. Mild signs and symptoms often are similar to those of a cold or flu, but they last longer. These symptoms of pneumonia may include:
- Chest pain when you breathe or cough
- Confusion or changes in mental awareness (in adults age 65 and older)
- Cough, which may produce phlegm
- Fatigue
- Fever, sweating and shaking chills
- Lower than normal body temperature (in adults older than age 65 and people with weak immune systems)
- Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
- Shortness of breath
- Newborns and infants may not show any sign of the infection. Or they may vomit, have a fever and cough, appear restless or tired and without energy, or have difficulty breathing and eating.
Pneumonia Icd 10
Pneumonia is an unspecified organism. Therefore, J18.9 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.
Pneumonia In Kids
In most cases Kids with pneumonia caused by bacteria usually become sick fairly quickly, starting with a sudden high fever and unusually fast breathing. While Kids with pneumonia caused by viruses probably will have symptoms that appear more gradually and are less severe, though wheezing can be more common.
If a child has bacterial pneumonia and the doctor has prescribed antibiotics, give the medicine on schedule for as long as directed. This will help your child recover faster and help prevent the infection from spreading to other household members. For wheezing, the doctor might recommend using a nebulizer or an inhaler.
Ask the doctor before you use a medicine to treat your child’s cough because cough suppressants stop the lungs from clearing mucus, which isn’t helpful for pneumonia. Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines are not recommended for any kids under 6 years old.
Take your child’s temperature at least once each morning and each evening, and call the doctor if it goes above 102°F (38.9°C) in an older infant or child, or above 100.4°F (38°C) in a baby under 6 months of age.
Check your child’s lips and fingernails to make sure they are rosy and pink. Call your doctor if they are bluish or gray, which is a sign that the lungs are not getting enough oxygen.
Pneumonia Lung Sounds
In most cases, the Lung Sounds and a pneumonia cough is generally a productive cough, often with yellow or green mucus. The breathing sounds are also different from asthma – Instead of wheezing, a doctor will hear rales and rhonchi with their stethoscope. Rhonchi are rumblings in the chest that indict mucus in the airways.
Pneumonia In Dogs
In most pneumonia infections of Dogs begin as ‘kennel cough’, an infection of the trachea and bronchi, but can spread deeper into the lungs, especially in young or old dogs, or dogs with a compromised immune system. Most other causes of bacterial pneumonia are not particularly contagious to other dogs.
Pneumonia Treatment
The treatment for pneumonia involves curing the infection and preventing complications. People who have community-acquired pneumonia usually can be treated at home with medication. Although most symptoms ease in a few days or weeks, the feeling of tiredness can persist for a month or more. The options include:
- Antibiotics. These medicines are used to treat bacterial pneumonia. It may take time to identify the type of bacteria causing your pneumonia and to choose the best antibiotic to treat it. If your symptoms don’t improve, your doctor may recommend a different antibiotic.
- Cough medicine. This medicine may be used to calm your cough so that you can rest. Because coughing helps loosen and move fluid from your lungs, it’s a good idea not to eliminate your cough completely. In addition, you should know that very few studies have looked at whether over-the-counter cough medicines lessen coughing caused by pneumonia. If you want to try a cough suppressant, use the lowest dose that helps you rest.
- Fever reducers/pain relievers. You may take these as needed for fever and discomfort. These include drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others).
Pneumonia Natural Remedies
This condition can also be controlled using the following natural remedies:
- Peppermint, eucalyptus, and fenugreek tea.
- Saltwater gargle.
- Caffeine.
- Warm, damp air.
- Rest.
- Ginger or turmeric tea.
- Hydration.
- Fenugreek tea.