Pneumonia Pathophysiology

Pneumonia is an acute infection of the lungs, it can be caused by a variety of organisms entering the body – including bacteria, viruses or fungi. The infection causes an inflammation of the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs and may result in the alveoli filling with fluid or other purulent material (Mayo Clinic, 2016). An accumulation of fluid within alveoli and portions of the lungs, can reduce the ability of the lungs to allow for oxygen diffusion across the alveoli walls. If oxygen saturation is low, it can cause the body’s cells to not work effectively. Therefore, the risk of the infection spreading through the body is increased – it is due to this reason, that pneumonia can be life-threatening (American Lung Foundation, 2016). Pneumonia

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

Among critically-ill patients in acute care facilities, pneumonia is one of the most frequently acquired hospital infections (Curtin, 2011). Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the second most common healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in the United States and it is responsible for approximately 25% of infections that occur in intensive care units (Sedwick et al., 2012). VAP is defined as a hospital-acquired lung infection that develops in patients who are intubated and receiving mechanical ventilation at the time of or within 48 hours prior to the onset of infection (Sedwick et al., 2012; Gianakis et al., 2015). The definition of VAP, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), encompasses a combination of radiological,

2. Patient is experiencing acute pain r/t coughing and deep breathing aeb wheezing in the right and left upper lobes of the lungs.

File, T. (2017). Treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in adults in the outpatient setting. Retrieved from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/treatment-of-community-acquired-pneumonia-in-adults-in-the-outpatient-setting?source=search_result&search=treating%20community-acquired%20pneumonia%20in%20adults&selectedTitle=2~150#H11

        The pneumonia virus affects the respiratory system. The respiratory system includes the throat, voice box,windpipe, air tubes, air sacs, and most important the lungs. “This system job is to take in air from the outside and take out carbon dioxide from inside the air and that helps your body prevent illness.” (Health tab) This is how it works, the air can enter through the nose or mouth, then it passes through the air sacs, and then finally it enters in the lung. Once in the lungs the oxygen can enter the bloodstream. This maybe common knowledge but you can not live very long without breathing so the respiratory system is very important.

The client’s secondary diagnosis is community-acquired pneumonia. Typically, immune defense mechanisms, such as the secretion of alveolar macrophages and immunoglobulins A and G, protect the lower airway from infection. Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia, invades the lungs. The organism triggers an inflammatory response, resulting in increased blood flow and vascular permeability. Neutrophil activation occurs, to surround the kill the invading organism. A combination of the offending organism, neutrophils and fluid from the surrounding blood vessels flood the alveoli, inhibiting normal oxygen transportation. This filling of the alveoli may lead to tachypnea, tachycardia and dyspnea. Further obstruction of airflow and an increased impairment of gas exchange occur as mucous production increases. When

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).

Sue and Johnsy met at a small restaurant, both of them felt hundreds of miles from home. Immediately they found a bosom friend in one another, they both had a love for chicory salads, bishop sleeves, and most of all, art. They resided in a small apartment in Greenwich Village, the Southern part of New York City. Their closest neighbor, Old Behrman, also loved art, but he spent his days at the bar drinking himself unconscious and never painted the masterpiece that he so dream about, until tragedy struck. In November, a cold, unseen stranger prowled about the city, named Pneumonia, and he smote anybody who dared show their face. Johnsy with her warm California blood fell captive to the wretched stranger, and she believed that when the last ivy

Pneumonia is an infection that inflames air sacs in one or both lungs, which may fill with fluid.

This is an older adult with a risk factor for pneumonia as enumerated in the case scenario. Some of the risk factors stated in the case scenario are as follows: The patient age, current exposure to his granddaughter who had an upper respiratory infection and the patient recently had a cold. According to Woo & Robinson, “pneumonia should be considered in any patient who presents with respiratory symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, or sputum production" (2016). When an older patient with more than one risk factor presents with “not feeling well”, and an increasing fatigue, I will be more concern about pneumonia. Moreover, the patient forgot a lunch scheduled with her daughter, which showed an episode of confusion. The patient also has a fever, cough

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has been reported as the most serious health care–associated infection particularly in the intensive care unit (ICU) (1). VAP is defined as pneumonia developing in more than 48hrs after endotracheal intubation and initiation of mechanical ventilation (MV). It includes pneumonia developing even after extubation (2).

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 is a case of a 74 year old woman who was diagnosed with Community Acquired Pneumonia.

The patient's overall symptoms and lab work suggest that she is suffering from hospital acquired pneumonia. Currently the patient is presenting a moist chesty cough. Additionally, her heart rate is elevated, her oxygenation is low, and her RR is high. She has a raised white blood cell count, which indicates infection. Finally, the patient is acting confused and disoriented, which can be the direct result of a lack of oxygenation to the brain. All of these symptoms point to pneumonia (Torres, 1999).