Research Paper On Pneumonia
Introduction
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs which can develop from bacteria, a virus, or toxins and is the sixth leading cause of death in the states. People who are at a higher risk in contracting the disease are the elderly, those who are hospitalized for other conditions, those with coughs after a stroke, smokers, those who suffer with malnutrition, alcoholics, those who have bronchitis, those with sickle-cell anemia, those undergoing radiation treatments or chemotherapy, and those with AIDS. Pneumonia is a significant sickness that affects one percent of the population each year. The disease is not caused by any one thing, for it has over thirty causes that can be broken down into five major areas of cause; bacteria, viruses, …show more content…
mycoplasmas, pneumocystis, and chemicals.
Bacterial pneumonia affects babies and the elderly most often, those whose immunities are the weakest, including alcoholics, post-surgery patients, and those with pre-existing illnesses. When a pneumonia bacterium is introduced into a healthy person’s throat it will not multiply, immunities are able to fight it off, but when defenses are down, the immune system can be ineffective in prohibiting the bacteria from multiplying and expanding into the lungs where they can be extremely destructive by causing inflammation in the air sacs. Various parts of the lungs can fill with fluid while the infection spreads to the blood stream and quickly works its way through the whole body. The most common type of bacteria that causes pneumonia is the streptococcus pneumoniae.
Background
Viruses are responsible for up to half of all pneumonias and are the cause of respiratory infections.
Pneumonia sets in when the infection moves from the upper respiratory tract into the lungs. Most types of viral pneumonia are short lived and are rarely fatal, excluding the influenza virus that can lead to death. Like bacterial pneumonia, the virus sets on and attacks the lung tissue causing the lung to fill with fluid.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is caused by minute particles that are neither bacterial nor viral but act like a combination of both. This type of pneumonia is usually epidemic but not severe, for it is rarely fatal even if left untreated. Fungus is believed to cause Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and is prevalent in AIDS patients. The inhalation of chemicals can cause pneumonia and have serious results.
Community-acquired pneumonia continues to have a significant impact on elderly individuals, who are affected more frequently and with more severe consequences than younger populations. As the population ages it is expected that the medical and economic impact of this disease will increase. Despite these concerns, little progress has been made in research specifically focusing on community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly. Data continue to show that a high index of suspicion, early antimicrobial therapy and appropriate medications to cover typical pathogens are extremely important in treating community-acquired pneumonia in older
individuals.
Despite widespread availability of antibiotic therapy and sophisticated severity of illness assessments, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. In the elderly population, those aged over 65 years, the impact of pneumonia is far greater than in other age groups. The annual incidence of pneumonia in the elderly is four-times that of younger populations. In addition, older adults have higher rates of hospitalization and are more likely to die as a result of CAP. The elderly population is increasing at twice the rate of the general population, necessitating a better understanding of the path physiology, microbiology, treatment and prevention of this common affliction.
The mechanisms behind the disproportionate incidence and mortality rates in elderly pneumonia patients are not fully understood. Several physiologic changes in older adults have been implicated as risk factors for CAP. Changes in basic lung physiology as a result of aging include decreased elastic recoil, increased air trapping (senile emphysema), decreased chest wall compliance and reduced respiratory muscle strength. These factors may act to increase baseline work of breathing, giving older individuals less reserve to cope with bacterial infections in the lung. These findings, combined with greater upper airway colonization with virulent organisms, may predispose this population to develop lower respiratory tract infections. One small study supports this theory, demonstrating an increased incidence of silent aspiration in elderly adults with CAP. Changes in the immune system with aging have also been postulated, although this remains a controversial area. The effects of aging on the immune system are thought to include decreased cell-mediated and humoral immunity. These findings are challenged by more recent data, which reveal that elderly pneumonia patients have similar severity of illness scores and equal cytokine responses, suggesting that immune responses may not be blunted in older populations.
Regarding the etiology of pneumonia, several studies have documented that the etiology of CAP in elderly patients does not differ significantly from younger populations. However, elderly patients may present differently than other age groups.
While the exact cause is not yet clear, the data clearly support that CAP affects elderly patients at higher rates and results in higher mortality. The focus of this article is to review the most recent data regarding the epidemiology, microbiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of CAP in elderly populations.
Methodology
Your doctor will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. If you have pneumonia, your lungs may make crackling, bubbling, and rumbling sounds when you inhale. You also may be wheezing, and it may be hard to hear sounds of breathing in some areas of your chest. Chest X-ray (if your doctor suspects pneumonia) some patients may need other tests, including: CBC blood test to check white blood cell count, arterial blood gases to see if enough oxygen is getting into your blood from the lungs, CT (or CAT) scan of the chest to see how the lungs are functioning, sputum tests to look for the organism (that can detected in the mucus collected from you after a deep cough) causing your symptoms, pleural fluid culture if there is fluid in the space surrounding the lungs. Pulse oximetry to measure how much oxygen is moving through your bloodstream, done by simply attaching a small clip to your finger for a brief time.
Bronchoscopy, a procedure used to look into the lungs' airways, which would be performed if you are hospitalized and antibiotics are not working well.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs which can develop from bacteria, a virus, or toxins and is the sixth leading cause of death in the states. People who are at a higher risk in contracting the disease are the elderly, those who are hospitalized for other conditions, those with coughs after a stroke, smokers, those who suffer with malnutrition, alcoholics, those who have bronchitis, those with sickle-cell anemia, those undergoing radiation treatments or chemotherapy, and those with AIDS. Pneumonia is a significant sickness that affects one percent of the population each year. The disease is not caused by any one thing, for it has over thirty causes that can be broken down into five major areas of cause; bacteria, viruses, …show more content…
mycoplasmas, pneumocystis, and chemicals.
Bacterial pneumonia affects babies and the elderly most often, those whose immunities are the weakest, including alcoholics, post-surgery patients, and those with pre-existing illnesses. When a pneumonia bacterium is introduced into a healthy person’s throat it will not multiply, immunities are able to fight it off, but when defenses are down, the immune system can be ineffective in prohibiting the bacteria from multiplying and expanding into the lungs where they can be extremely destructive by causing inflammation in the air sacs. Various parts of the lungs can fill with fluid while the infection spreads to the blood stream and quickly works its way through the whole body. The most common type of bacteria that causes pneumonia is the streptococcus pneumoniae.
Background
Viruses are responsible for up to half of all pneumonias and are the cause of respiratory infections.
Pneumonia sets in when the infection moves from the upper respiratory tract into the lungs. Most types of viral pneumonia are short lived and are rarely fatal, excluding the influenza virus that can lead to death. Like bacterial pneumonia, the virus sets on and attacks the lung tissue causing the lung to fill with fluid.
Mycoplasma pneumonia is caused by minute particles that are neither bacterial nor viral but act like a combination of both. This type of pneumonia is usually epidemic but not severe, for it is rarely fatal even if left untreated. Fungus is believed to cause Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and is prevalent in AIDS patients. The inhalation of chemicals can cause pneumonia and have serious results.
Community-acquired pneumonia continues to have a significant impact on elderly individuals, who are affected more frequently and with more severe consequences than younger populations. As the population ages it is expected that the medical and economic impact of this disease will increase. Despite these concerns, little progress has been made in research specifically focusing on community-acquired pneumonia in the elderly. Data continue to show that a high index of suspicion, early antimicrobial therapy and appropriate medications to cover typical pathogens are extremely important in treating community-acquired pneumonia in older
individuals.
Despite widespread availability of antibiotic therapy and sophisticated severity of illness assessments, community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) continues to be a leading cause of death worldwide. In the elderly population, those aged over 65 years, the impact of pneumonia is far greater than in other age groups. The annual incidence of pneumonia in the elderly is four-times that of younger populations. In addition, older adults have higher rates of hospitalization and are more likely to die as a result of CAP. The elderly population is increasing at twice the rate of the general population, necessitating a better understanding of the path physiology, microbiology, treatment and prevention of this common affliction.
The mechanisms behind the disproportionate incidence and mortality rates in elderly pneumonia patients are not fully understood. Several physiologic changes in older adults have been implicated as risk factors for CAP. Changes in basic lung physiology as a result of aging include decreased elastic recoil, increased air trapping (senile emphysema), decreased chest wall compliance and reduced respiratory muscle strength. These factors may act to increase baseline work of breathing, giving older individuals less reserve to cope with bacterial infections in the lung. These findings, combined with greater upper airway colonization with virulent organisms, may predispose this population to develop lower respiratory tract infections. One small study supports this theory, demonstrating an increased incidence of silent aspiration in elderly adults with CAP. Changes in the immune system with aging have also been postulated, although this remains a controversial area. The effects of aging on the immune system are thought to include decreased cell-mediated and humoral immunity. These findings are challenged by more recent data, which reveal that elderly pneumonia patients have similar severity of illness scores and equal cytokine responses, suggesting that immune responses may not be blunted in older populations.
Regarding the etiology of pneumonia, several studies have documented that the etiology of CAP in elderly patients does not differ significantly from younger populations. However, elderly patients may present differently than other age groups.
While the exact cause is not yet clear, the data clearly support that CAP affects elderly patients at higher rates and results in higher mortality. The focus of this article is to review the most recent data regarding the epidemiology, microbiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of CAP in elderly populations.
Methodology
Your doctor will listen to your lungs with a stethoscope. If you have pneumonia, your lungs may make crackling, bubbling, and rumbling sounds when you inhale. You also may be wheezing, and it may be hard to hear sounds of breathing in some areas of your chest. Chest X-ray (if your doctor suspects pneumonia) some patients may need other tests, including: CBC blood test to check white blood cell count, arterial blood gases to see if enough oxygen is getting into your blood from the lungs, CT (or CAT) scan of the chest to see how the lungs are functioning, sputum tests to look for the organism (that can detected in the mucus collected from you after a deep cough) causing your symptoms, pleural fluid culture if there is fluid in the space surrounding the lungs. Pulse oximetry to measure how much oxygen is moving through your bloodstream, done by simply attaching a small clip to your finger for a brief time.
Bronchoscopy, a procedure used to look into the lungs' airways, which would be performed if you are hospitalized and antibiotics are not working well.