AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
![]() ![]() A study carried out by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at estimating its burden in North America found that CAP accounted for the eighth leading cause of mortality in the United States and the seventh leading cause of mortality in Canda after adjusting for various gender and age differences. Pneumonia is a fairly prevalent disease and carries a heavy burden in all populations. There is considerable overlap in the etiologic agents in non-ventilated hospitalized patients and ventilated patients with pneumonia, and it is, therefore, appropriate to consider them together. Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia The 3 commonest ones in North America include Histoplasma, Blastomyces, and Coccidioides. However, often overlooked, some fungal species can cause pneumonia in immunocompetent individuals which results in a delay in diagnosis and leads to unfavorable outcomes. ![]() įungal infections are usually implicated in patients with certain predisposing immunocompromised states like HIV and organ transplant recipients, among others. However, some of the most frequent viral agents implicated in CAP in the United States include influenza virus followed by respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus, and adenoviruses. Whether they are the primary cause or contribute to the pathogenesis by secondary bacterial causes is still being investigated. It is often observed that viral species colonize nasopharynx of patients with CAP. In the United States, the most common bacterial causes of CAP include Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and gram-negative enteric bacilli. Atypical organisms commonly seen in clinical practice include Legionella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, among others. Common typical organisms include Pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Group A Streptococcus, and other aerobic and anaerobic gram-negative organisms. They have been classically studied under the subheadings "typical" and "atypical" organisms in terms of ease of culture positivity. Nonetheless, the most common organisms causing pneumonia can be studied under the headings mentioned earlier. Widespread reviews have shown that a single cause of pneumonia has often been identified in less than 10% of patients presenting to the emergency department. While identifying an etiologic agent for pneumonia is essential for effective treatment as well as epidemiological record keeping, this is seldom seen in clinical practice. These categories have helped establish the common organisms responsible for each type of pneumonia and helped to formulate treatment guidelines for the efficient management in both in-patient and out-patient setting.ĭepending on the pattern of involvement, pneumonia has historically also been studied as: Īny pneumonia acquired 48 hours after endotracheal intubation is considered as VAP. ![]() Now all pneumonia acquired in the setting of assisted-living facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and other healthcare facilities have been included under community-acquired pneumonia, and a hospital setting is necessary for classifying pneumonia as HAP. This classification helps clear the confusion surrounding the terms healthcare-associated and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Īny pneumonia acquired 48 hours after being admitted in an inpatient setting such as a hospital and not incubating at the time of admission is considered as HAP. This article reviews pneumonia based on the classification followed by the American Thoracic Society.Īny pneumonia acquired outside of a hospital in a community setting. There have been many attempts to classify pneumonia based on the etiology, clinical setting in which the patent acquired the infection, and the pattern of involvement of lung parenchyma, among other classifications. Rather than looking at it as a single disease, health care professionals must remember that pneumonia is an umbrella term for a group of syndromes caused by a variety of organisms resulting in varied manifestations and sequelae. Pneumonia has been defined as an infection of the lung parenchyma. ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |