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It is the most common bacterial pneumonia found in adults, the most common type of community-acquired pneumonia, and one of the common types of pneumococcal infection. The estimated number of Americans with pneumococcal pneumonia is 900,000 annually, with almost 400,000 cases hospitalized and fatalities accounting for 5-7% of these cases. [2]
If left untreated, aspiration pneumonia can progress to form a lung abscess. [5] Another possible complication is an empyema, in which pus collects inside the lungs. [6] If continual aspiration occurs, the chronic inflammation can cause compensatory thickening of the insides of the lungs, resulting in bronchiectasis. [6]
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. [3] [14] Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. [15]
Drugs can increase a person's risk of aspiration through multiple mechanisms. [6] Medications including sedatives, hypnotics, and antipsychotics can result in decreased level of consciousness and loss of cough and swallow reflexes. [7] Long-term use of proton pump inhibitors can lead to overgrowth of gastric bacteria and increase risk of ...
Since pneumonia can take a dangerous turn, it's important to know the earliest signs of it. Dr. Zweig says that, typically, pneumonia starts as a regular viral upper respiratory infection.
Pneumonia can be described as pneumonitis combined with consolidation and exudation of lung tissue due to infection with microorganisms. [5] The distinction between pneumonia and pneumonitis can be further understood with pneumonitis being the encapsulation of all respiratory infections (incorporating pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis as major ...
Children with acute otitis media who are younger than six months of age are generally treated with amoxicillin or other antibiotics. Although most children with acute otitis media who are older than two years old do not benefit from treatment with amoxicillin or other antibiotics, such treatment may be helpful in children younger than two years old with acute otitis media that is bilateral or ...
People with a compromised immune system, such as those living with HIV, are also at higher risk of pneumococcal disease. [5] In HIV patients with access to treatment, the risk of invasive pneumoccal disease is 0.2–1% per year and has a fatality rate of 8%. [5] There is an association between pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza.