Pneumonia
hidePneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid (consolidation and exudation).
The alveoli are microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen. Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic—that is, unknown—when infectious causes have been excluded.
Typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Diagnostic tools include x-rays and examination of the sputum. Treatment depends on the cause of pneumonia; bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics.
Pneumonia is a common illness which occurs in all age groups, and is a leading cause of death among the elderly and people who are chronically and terminally ill. Additionally, it is the leading cause of death in children under five years old worldwide. Vaccines to prevent certain types of pneumonia are available. The prognosis depends on the type of pneumonia, the appropriate treatment, any complications, and the person's underlying health.
For more information about Pneumonia, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with pneumonia
UN: $39 billion needed for pneumonia
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- To fight pneumonia, the world's top killer of children, United Nations officials say they need $39 billion (euro26.35 billion) over the next six years.
Scientists discover influenza's Achilles heel: Antioxidants
Oct 29, 2009 |
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As the nation copes with a shortage of vaccines for H1N1 influenza, a team of Alabama researchers have raised hopes that they have found an Achilles' heel for all strains of the flu—antioxidants. In an article appearing in ...
Older patients with dementia at increased risk for flu mortality
Oct 27, 2009 |
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An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher ...
Scientists Create NICE Solution to Pneumonia Vaccine Testing Problems
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Medical clinics the world over could benefit from new software* created at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where a team of scientists has found a way to improve the efficiency ...
Hitting early, swine flu claims 11 more kids in US
Oct 17, 2009 |
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(AP) -- As the swine flu outbreak strikes the U.S. early and hard, health officials note a worrisome number of child deaths and warn that supplies of vaccine will remain scarce for at least the next couple ...
Bacteria co-infections common in swine flu deaths: CDC
Sep 30, 2009 |
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Many people who have died from swine flu in the United States were also infected with other bacteria, including one which can cause pneumonia or meningitis, US health officials said Wednesday.
Popular stomach acid reducer triples risk of developing pneumonia
Sep 14, 2009 |
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A popular stomach-acid reducer used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients needing breathing machine support increases the risk of those patients contracting pneumonia threefold, according to researchers at Wake ...
Experts: UN program to save children didn't work
Jul 31, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The U.N. unveiled a multimillion dollar strategy a dozen years ago to save children worldwide, but a new study has found the program had surprisingly little effect in Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries.
A Matter of Density, Not Quantity: Individual Bacterial Cells are Capable of Quorum Sensing when Confined in Small Volum
Jul 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Infections of wounds, pneumonia, etc. in hospitals in particular are often caused by bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Once they reach a certain density, colonies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa produce virulence ...
Reduced-dose schedule for pneumococcal vaccine in infants shows effectiveness
Jul 07, 2009 |
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Infants who received two or three primary doses of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) both had a decreased rate of carrying pneumococcal microorganisms that can cause pneumonia and other infections, compared ...
Statins don't lower risk of pneumonia in elderly
Jun 17, 2009 |
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Taking popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, such as Lipitor (atorvastatin), does not lower the risk of pneumonia. That's the new finding from a study of more than 3,000 Group Health patients published online on June ...
Cost-effective measures could stop child pneumonia deaths
Jun 01, 2009 |
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Implementing measures to improve nutrition, indoor air pollution, immunization coverage and the management of pneumonia cases could be cost-effective and significantly reduce child mortality from pneumonia, according to a ...
Use of acid-suppressive medications associated with increased risk of hospital-acquired pneumonia
May 26, 2009 |
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Hospitalized patients who receive acid-suppressive medications such as a proton-pump inhibitor have a 30 percent increased odds of developing pneumonia while in the hospital, according to a study in the May ...
Swine flu fears evident as world's cases top 6,000
May 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- In China, mask-wearing police cordoned off more hotels Wednesday, quarantining anyone who came in contact with swine flu patients, no matter how mild their symptoms. Not so in Mexico, where the health ...
US, Costa Rica swine flu deaths reported
May 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A Washington state man with underlying heart conditions became the third person infected with swine flu to die in the U.S., health officials said Saturday, while Costa Rica reported the first swine ...
