Community acquired pneumonia refers to the pneumonia in people who are not hospitalized recently or another health care facility. This is a common illness and affects people of all age groups. This condition causes problems such as fever, difficulty in breathing, chest pains and cough. This occurs when the lung areas that absorb oxygen from atmosphere becomes filled with liquid and does not work effectively. This occurs throughout the world and is the leading cause of illness and death.
Causes of Community Acquired Pneumonia:
Following are the causes of community acquired pneumonia:
- Fungi
- Parasites
- Viruses
- Bacteria
Symptoms of Community Acquired Pneumonia:
Community acquired pneumonia symptoms include:
- Shallow or rapid breathing which is often painful
- Stabbing or sharp pain in the chest
- High fever which is accompanied with chills, uncontrollable shivering and sweating
- Cough that produces yellow or greenish sputum
- Breathing problems
Rare symptoms include:
- Myalgia or muscle aches
- Joint pain or arthralgia
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Bluish discoloration of the skin or cyanosis
- Excessive fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Headaches, that may include migraine headaches
- Coughing up blood or hemoptysis
- Hypothermia
Additional symptoms for infants include:
- Jaundice or yellowing of skin
- Being overly sleepy
- Difficulties in feeding
Risk Factors for Community Acquired Pneumonia:
The following conditions may increase the chances of getting pneumonia:
- Problems in immune system
- Recent trauma or surgery
- Impaired consciousness
- Living in the nursing facility
- Other serious health conditions like liver cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus or heart disease
- Cerebral palsy
- Chronic lung diseases like cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis or COPD
- Difficulty in swallowing
- Recent viral respiratory infections, such as influenza, laryngitis, common cold
- Cigarette smoking
Diagnosis for Community Acquired Pneumonia:
Person suffering from pneumonia might work hard to breathe or for breathing faster. Crackling sounds are heard by the doctor when he listens to the chest with stethoscope. Health care provider may suggest chest x-ray, if pneumonia is suspected. Other tests include:
- Pleural fluid culture
- Gram’s stain and sputum culture for checking the organism that caused symptoms
- Computed Tomography scan of chest
- Arterial blood gases
- Complete blood count
Treatments for Community Acquired Pneumonia:
Doctor first decides whether the affected person needs to be hospitalized. If treated at hospital, patient receives antibiotics and fluids into the veins, breathing treatments and oxygen therapy. Antibiotics must be given immediately after admitting in the hospital.
Most people are treated at home. If bacteria causes pneumonia, doctor prescribes antibiotics to cure the infection. It is difficult for the doctor to know whether the patient is suffering from bacterial or viral pneumonia, hence patient receives antibiotics.
