Pneumonia

Question 1

What is bronchitis?

Answer 1

Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi

Question 2

What is bronchiolitis?

Answer 2

Inflammation and swelling of the bronchioles

Question 3

What is pneumonia?

Answer 3

Inflammation and swelling of the alveoli

Question 4

Which immune cells are initially recruited in an infection of pneumonia?

Answer 4

Neutrophils

Question 5

Which chemokine is released during pneumonia infections of the lung that causes the rapid recruitment within inflammation?

Answer 5

IL-8

Question 6

Which immune cells are resident within the alveoli?

Answer 6

Alveolar macrophages

Question 7

Which immune cells accumulate in prolonged inflammation?

Answer 7

T-lymphocytes
Macrophages
Monocytes

Question 8

What are the risk factors for pneumonia?

Answer 8

Age > 65 years or <2 years
Cigarette smoking
Excess alcohol consumption

Contact with children, overcrowding, poverty,

Inhaled corticosteroids, immunosuppressants
proton pump inhibitors

COPD, asthma, heart and liver disease, diabetes mellitus, HIV

Question 9

What are the main symptoms of pneumonia?

Answer 9

Productive cough
Right sided pleuritic chest pain & lack of lucidity
Fever
Tachypnoea
Low oxygen saturation 
Crepitations
Low diastolic blood pressure

Question 10

What criteria is used to determine the severity of a pneumonia infection?

Answer 10

CR-65 assessment

Question 11

What does a chest x-ray show in patients with pneumonia?

Answer 11

Right upper lobe airspace opacity with consolidation pattern
Sharp demarcation along the right minor fissure inferiorly with extension into hilum

Bilateral blurring of the costo-phrenic recess in the pleural cavity consistent with an effusion.

Question 12

What does bilateral blurring on a chest X-ray suggest in an individual with pneumonia?

Answer 12

Indicates fluid and potentially cellular infiltration into the alveolar space of the right upper lung and potentially fluid in the pleura

Question 13

What type of bacteria is streptococcus pneumoniae?

Answer 13

Gram positive bacterium

Question 14

What treatment is typically administered for an individual with streptococcus pneumoniae?

Answer 14

7 day course of amoxicillin and clarithromycin

Question 15

How do beta-lactams work in gram positive pneumonia infections?

Answer 15

• A gram-positive bacterium susceptible to beta-lactams that bind to proteins in the bacterial cell wall to prevent transpeptidation and bacterial replication.
• Macrolide prescribed to ensure successful treatment.

Question 16

What type of bacteria is chlamydia pneumoniae?

Answer 16

Gram-negative bacteria

Question 17

Which antibiotics are prescribed for patients presenting with a chlamydia pneumoniae infection?

Answer 17

Macrolides, clarithromycin is prescribed, inhibiting the 50s ribosomal subunit limiting protein synthesis

Question 18

Why is longer courses of treatment prescribed for c.Pneumonia?

Answer 18

Atypical bacteria have slower replication cycles, therefore longer treatment courses are recommended compared to typical bacteria.

Question 19

What is walking pneumonia?

Answer 19

Walking pneumonia: Atypical bacteria cause milder and more prolonged symptoms due to their slower replication rate.

Question 20

What is the most appropriate treatment for accumulation of fluid in the pleural cavity?

Answer 20

Invasive mechanical ventilation
CPAP
VAC-ECMO

Question 21

Which corticosteroid is prescribed for severe cases of pneuomonia infections?

Answer 21

Dexamethasone