Atypical Pneumonia
Author: mzPOTTER
Framed in the old disused term pneumonia, are now defined various types of pneumonia. The association of certain unusual symptoms to the general picture of pneumonia found that about 1950 he coined the term atypical pneumonia. In this article we will review the typical pneumonia and expose the characteristics of the so-called atypical.
Typical pneumonia (pneumococcus)
The typical clinical presentation of pneumonia is an acute, with chills, high fever, a general breakdown, rusty coughing, pain in one side and tip of condensation on the chest radiograph. This Diplococus caused by pneumococcus pneumoniae, and usually repond well to antibiotics of the penicillin group, with improvement within 48 hours. The disappearance or reduction of fever is one of the best clinical signs.
Pneumococcal pneumonia is an infectious disease, and, therefore, occurs when the balance between infectious agent and the body’s defenses break.- The least of the time is due to the presence of particularly aggressive strains of pneumococcus.
- The mass inoculation of bacteria (aspiration, drug addicts who use intravenous injured or contaminated equipment, etc..) Can overcome any defense and could lead to pneumonia.
- Failure of local defenses is a common cause of respiratory infections and pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, defects in cilia motility deficits, selective IgA globulin, which play an important role in the defense of these organs, aspiration foreign bodies, tumors that cause bronchial obstruction, and so on.
- The general failure of the defense is very important risk factor for infections and pneumonia, leukemia, lymphomas, cancers in general, chemotherapy, AIDS (infected with human immunodeficiency virus or HIV), alcoholism, intravenous drug , and in general, malnutrition and debilitating diseases, splenectomy, etc.).
Therefore, the prognosis is very variable, and depends on the following factors:
- Age, being more severe at the ends of life, ie very young children and the elderly.
- The presence of debilitating disease. It is a crucial risk factor. A healthy person receives prompt treatment, has great potential to overcome the disease. A very weakened by other diseases or treatments have much worse prognosis, reaching a 25% mortality in advanced cases.
- The extension of the disease. There is a very small condensation of 2-3 cm in diameter, which have affected the whole lung or lung 2.
- The presence of local complications. Pleural effusion, frequent pneumonia, worsening the prognosis.
- The time from first symptoms to effective treatment. The sooner treatment begins the better.
- In general, except for mild cases of pneumonia should be treated in the hospital.