Related articles: Pneumonia
Definition
Pneumonia is lung infection. Generally caused by a large number of viruses or bacteria, it can also be the result of fungal infections, parasitosis, inhalation of some toxic substances or mechanical damage to the lung. Before the discovery of antibiotics, pneumonia was the leading cause of death; today it affects mainly the elderly, immunosuppressed or debilitated, but it can also affect a young and fit organism, often as a complication of a neglected flu or a cold.Most common symptoms and signs *
- Respiratory acidosis
- Acute abdomen
- Halitosis
- asphyxiation
- Asthenia
- Pulmonary atelectasis
- Intestinal Atony
- Increase in the ESR
- Bacteremia
- Chills
- Catarrh
- Cyanosis
- Dyspnoea
- Chest pain
- Pain in the Stomach Mouth
- Pain in the upper part of the abdomen
- Pain in the sternum
- Muscle pains
- Pleural empyema
- heartburn
- Temperature
- Shortness of breath
- Hypercapnia
- Hyperventilation
- Hyponatremia
- Hypoxia
- Headache
- Mediastinitis
- meningism
- Multiple pulmonary nodules
- Solitary pulmonary nodule
- Peritonismo
- pneumomediastinum
- pneumothorax
- rales
- Reduction of respiratory noise
- Blood in Saliva
- Confusional state
- Sweating
- tachypnoea
- Cough
- Pleural effusion
Further indications
In most cases, the symptoms of pneumonia have a sudden onset, with appearance of chest pain, fever, chills, cough and shortness of breath. This symptomatology follows that of the common flu forms and varies in a sensitive manner in relation to the causal agent and the ability of the organism to limit its proliferation. The catarrh is yellow-greenish and abundant in bacterial pneumonia, while it is almost absent and whitish in the viral ones (generally associated with dry and irritated bones).
