Pneumonia, colloquially known as pneumonia, is among the common diseases. Pneumonia that develops in society and during daily life is called 'Pneumonia that develops in the community'. Its annual incidence is around 1%. The incidence and death rates due to pneumonia increase in older ages. 1/3 of pneumonia patients developing in the community are treated as inpatients and 2/3 of them are treated as outpatients. The mortality rate is very high in pneumonia patients who need inpatient treatment, especially intensive care.
The causative agent of pneumonia that develops in the community varies depending on the patient's age, additional diseases and risk factors. The most common factors are respiratory viruses and bacteria. Risk factors for pneumonia include advanced age, additional diseases, suppression of the immune system, alcoholism, malnutrition, impaired consciousness, splenectomy (absence of spleen). The disease most commonly associated with pneumonia is COPD. Apart from COPD, hypertension, heart failure, diabetes, stroke and cancer are also among the diseases associated with pneumonia. Some scoring systems are used when planning treatment for pneumonia. The CURB-65 scoring system, which is based on serum urea level, respiratory rate, blood pressure and age, is an effective scoring method in deciding whether the patient can be treated as an inpatient or outpatient. The most common symptoms of pneumonia are cough, dark sputum, It is observed as an increase in the amount of sputum, fever, back and chest pain, and weakness. However, in recent years, pneumonia along with epidemics such as swine flu and bird flu; It has started to be seen with different symptoms such as muscle and joint pain, confusion, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and headache. .
The most important step in pneumonia treatment is to first determine the general condition of the patient and decide whether the patient will be treated as an inpatient or an outpatient. After deciding this, the most appropriate antibiotic treatment for the patient should be started. Depending on the sputum culture result in antibiotic treatment, later changes may be made. In addition to antibiotic treatment, the patient can be given expectorants as supportive treatment, painkillers if he/she complains of pain, and additional breath-opening medications if he/she has additional diseases such as COPD and asthma and complains of increased shortness of breath.
Pneumonia; It is an important treatable infectious disease that needs to be diagnosed and treated quickly and effectively, especially due to the high mortality rates in seriously ill patients who will require intensive care treatment.
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