Chronic Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs, wherein there is inflammation of the lungs, which is caused due to bacteria, viruses and fungi. When this disease occurs over a long period of time, then it is known as chronic pneumonia. Although it does not occur suddenly like acute pneumonia, but the damage that occurs to the lungs over a period of time can prove to be very harmful, and if not dealt within time, may even prove to be fatal.

Causes

Chronic pneumonia can be caused due to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even in some rare cases of immunocompromised individuals, parasites. However, the most common culprits include Nocardia, Actinomyces and Blastomyces dermatitidis. Certain granulomatous pneumonias can occur due to atypical mycobacteria like Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Coccidioides immitis. More often than not, these microorganisms are endemic in certain regions of the United States, and hence anyone who has traveled to such areas recently should be extra cautious and should keep an eye out for symptoms of pneumonia. However, it is often people who have a compromised immune system are the ones that suffer from chronic pneumonia, as the disease takes a prolonged course as compared to acute pneumonia.

Symptoms

• High fever, which may be accompanied by chills, as is seen in cases of chills and fever
• Chest pain, especially chest pain while breathing in
• Due to the pain in chest while breathing in, the person may even take in shallow, rapid breaths
• Cough, which may be dry or wet. However, more often than not, the person has cough with phlegm
• There may even be phlegm with blood in it
• Feeling of heaviness and congestion in the chest
• Sweating, especially night sweats, shivering, chest pain, difficulty in breathing along with cyanosis
• Drowsiness, confusion, shortness of breath, increased respiratory rate, fatigue and tiredness, rhinitis, muscle aches and body pain, headache, etc.

Treatment

Before going on to treating pneumonia, it is important to diagnose the exact cause of pneumonia, as the treatment will vary in accordance with the causative agent. However antibiotics form the first line of defense in cases of pneumonia of the chronic type. These antibiotics are given either orally or intravenously depending on the severity of the disease and the stage in which it is. Mostly antibiotics help in most cases of pneumonia that are caused due to bacteria. However, if the person is suffering from viral pneumonia or fungal pneumonia, then chances are high that he or she is extremely immunocompromised. In such cases, there is need for very aggressive treatment, with the help of intravenous mode of administration of antibiotics. Other supportive treatment measures like, maintaining hydration, preventing any further super infections, etc. However, the prognosis for patients suffering from nosocomial, that is hospital acquired pneumonia, is relatively poor, as this type of pneumonia normally affects immunocompromised people. Furthermore, the strains of bacteria that cause nosocomial infections are normally antibiotic resistant, which further makes treating such cases a difficult task.

Often the patient ignores the symptoms initially, as the onset of symptoms is not very sudden, and so people tend to ignore them or write them off as cold or flu. However, this is a serious condition that can cause irreparable lung damage, especially when it is hospital acquired or if the patient is immunocompromised. So if you see these symptoms, it is best to consult a doctor and get your condition diagnosed and treated at the earliest.