Pneumonia Flashcards
Pneumonia definition
Pneumonia is an acute inflammation of the terminal bronchioles and the area surrounding the alveoli.
Epidemiology of pneumonia
0.5-1% of people develop CAP in the UK every year, with mortality between 5-14%
Bacteria that cause pneumonia
- MRSA
- TB
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Klebsiella pneumonia
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
What viruses cause Pneumonia?
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
- Influenza
What fungi cause pneumonia?
Pneumocystic jirovicii
What are idiopathic intersitial pneumonias?
group of non-infective causes e.g. cryptogenic organising pneumonia which may occur as a complication of rheumatoid arthritis or amiodarone use.
RFs for Pneumonia
- Extremes of age: young children and the elderly are particularly at risk
- Preceding viral infection
- Immunosuppressed: e.g. due to steroid use
- Intravenous drug abuse:Staphylococcus aureus
- Respiratory conditions: asthma, COPD, malignancy, cystic fibrosis
Pneumonia is secondary to inflamamtion, what does inflammation do in the lungs?
brings water into the lung tissue, which makes it harder to breathe.
What do microbes do in pneumonia?
- Enter and evade body defences
- Multiply and cross over from airways into lung tissue > inflammatory respionse
What happens to lung tissue as it inflammed?
tissue fills with white blood cells as well as proteins, fluid, and red blood cells if a nearby capillary is damaged in the process.
Pneumonias categorised by how its acquired - what are the 2 types of pneumonia?
- Community acquired pneumonia (CAP): pneumonia acquired outside a hospital setting
- Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP): pneumonia that develops more than 48h after hospital admission
What is aspiration pneumonia?
- due to foreign material lodging in the lungs.
- Microbes on the foreign material can cause infection.
- Aspiration pneumonia can also happen with drinks, or vomiting of gastric contents.
What is atypical pneumonia?
pneumonia caused by an organism that cannot be cultured in the normal way or detected using a gram stain.
They don’t respond to penicillins and can be treated with macrolides (e.g. clarithomycin), fluoroquinolones (e.g. levofloxacin) or tetracyclines (e.g. doxycycline).
What is bronchopneumonia?
infection can be throughout the lungs involving the bronchioles as well as the alveoli.
What is atypical/interstitial pneumonia?
infection is mainly just outside the alveoli in the interstitium.