Pathogens that Cause Pneumonia
What are the main pathogens that cause pneumonia? How would the treatment for pneumonia in a 23-year-old otherwise healthy patient possibly differ from a 66-year-old diabetic COPD patient? Would you order the same antibiotics for both patients? How would you determine if your patient needs to be hospitalized for pneumonia?
Length: A minimum of 275 words, not including references
Citations: At least 2 high-level scholarly reference in APA from within the last 5 years
Sample Paper
Discussion
Pneumonia causes inflammation of the air sacs in the lungs. The most common causes of this condition are viruses and bacteria. Streptococcus pneumonia is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia, especially in the US. Viral pneumonia is mostly caused by SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza.
Treatment of pneumonia depends on causative agent, symptom severity, the patient’s age, and overall health (Lanks, Musani & Hsia, 2019). Therefore, the treatment for pneumonia in a 23-year-old otherwise healthy patient would be different from a 66-year-old diabetic COPD patient. In a 23 healthy patient, pneumonia treatment may entail oral antibiotics for bacterial pneumonia and antivirals for viral pneumonia. In addition, the patient can be treated outpatient if the disease is not severe. On the other hand, pneumonia treatment in a 66-year-old patient with COPD and diabetes will entail antibiotics or antivirals, respiratory and oxygen therapy to maximize oxygenation and maintain oxygen levels in the bloodstream.
In addition to the above treatment, antibiotics may be administered intravenously. However, the two patients would be prescribed different antibiotics. COPD is associated with increased morbidity and mortality; therefore, due to other health problems and patients age of more than 65 years, he will be hospitalized. However, the two patients would be prescribed different antibiotics. In adults without significant comorbidities or recent exposure to antibiotics, macrolides such as azithromycin or doxycycline are the recommended outpatient therapy. On the other hand, in elderly patients with comorbidities and recent exposure to antibiotics, the recommended antibiotics are fluoroquinolones followed by beta-lactam antibiotics such as amoxicillin (Grief & Loza, 2018).
Depending on the pneumonia severity index score, pneumonia patients can be treated as inpatients or outpatients. The decision is based on the pneumonia severity index, which assesses patient sex, demographic factors, comorbid illnesses, and physical, laboratory, and radiographic findings. For example, a patient may be hospitalized if determined to be older than 65, confused, having declining kidney function, altered blood pressure, breathing problems, slowed heart rate, and abnormally low body temperatures.
References
Grief, S. N., & Loza, J. K. (2018). Guidelines for the Evaluation and Treatment of Pneumonia. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, 45(3), 485-503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2018.04.001
Lanks, C. W., Musani, A. I., & Hsia, D. W. (2019). Community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Medical Clinics, 103(3), 487-501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2018.12.008
