Chronic Pneumonia

Chronic pneumonia is pneumonia, the progression of which affects the soft tissues of the organ.  It bears such a name since the process ...

Chronic pneumonia is pneumonia, the progression of which affects the soft tissues of the organ. It bears such a name since the process repeats constantly and is characterized by periods of exacerbations and deviations of symptoms. Etiology Varieties Symptoms Complications Diagnosis Treatment Prevention This disease occurs due to untimely or improper treatment of pneumonia, which is why such an ailment as chronic pneumonia is most often observed in adults, due to improper treatment in childhood.

But recently, cases of the development of a chronic course of the disease in children have been decreasing, similarly with cases of death from such a pathological condition. The main reasons that can lead to the progression of this ailment are considered to be - nicotine abuse, chest injuries and the severe course of infectious or viral diseases, the complication of which is this disease. With exacerbation of patients, symptoms such as severe coughing are often tormented, often with sputum, in which there may be pus, general weakness, and fever. But the combination of all the signs and the course of the disease for each person will take place individually. There is a broad classification of chronic pneumonia, but one of the most common is considered an interstitial type of ailment.

As mentioned above, chronic pneumonia is the outcome of improper treatment of an acute or protracted form of this disease, which is further facilitated by incorrect methods of therapy, early discharge and some related factors:

• an unhealthy lifestyle in which a person is addicted to nicotine and alcohol;
• patient age. An incompletely cured disease takes on a chronic form in the elderly organism, which appears due to reduced immunity;
• A lack of vitamins and nutrients in the body.

In addition, for the occurrence of chronic pneumonia in children and adults, the fertile soil is:

• tuberculosis; previous SARS, influenza, chronic bronchitis; untimely extraction of foreign bodies from the bronchi; improper child care;
• chronic diseases of the respiratory system; prolonged effect of low temperatures on the body;
• the use of alcohol in large quantities (in adults and adolescents);
• complications after surgery and, as a result, a long stay in a supine position;
• nicotine abuse is the main cause of interstitial pneumonia; parasites or worms in the body can lead to chronic eosinophilic pneumonia; disorders of the nervous system;
• penetration of various bacteria or viruses into the body;
• age group of patients.

In older people, chronic pneumonia can become stagnant.

Classification of chronic pneumonia depending on the causes or pathogens: aspiration - develops due to the ingestion of foreign contents from the mouth, nose or stomach; interstitial - occurs due to various reasons, among which are viral infections and smoking. This type of disease is characterized by a severe and prolonged course; bacterial - damage to the lungs by various bacteria; viral - the main causative viruses are influenza, herpes. This type of chronic pneumonia in children can occur due to:

• transferred measles or chickenpox;
• abscessed - a complicated form of the disease, which is characterized by the formation of purulent cavities;
• eosinophilic - characterized by a high number of eosinophils in the blood or in sputum excreted by a person;
• fungal - based on the name, it occurs due to infection of the body with fungal infections;
• hemorrhagic - in the sputum during coughing, impurities of blood and mucus are observed; staphylococcal; pneumococcal;
• chlamydial - can occur not only in adults, but also in infants under the age of one year, or be congenital;
• streptococcal;
• atypical - combining several factors of occurrence, for example, a chronic infection, a bacterium and a virus.

Mycoplasmal pneumonia also belongs to this type. According to the localization and spread of chronic pneumonia in the lungs:

• lobar - infectious inflammation captures one or more lobes of the organ and spreads to the pleura;
• segmental - only a certain unit of the functional lobe of the lung becomes inflamed. This type is most often observed in children;
• focal - inflammation is located on small structural units of the lung;
• interstitial - it affects the walls of the alveoli and connective tissue.

Depending on the severity of the course, chronic pneumonia in children and adults can be:

• acute - contributes to the formation of complications;
• protracted - periods of exacerbation are quite long and amount to more than four weeks;
• stagnant - the cause of progression is stagnation in the pulmonary circulation.

This disorder occurs due to the impaired functioning of the bronchi and lungs.

SYMPTOMS Depending on the type of disease, the signs of its manifestation will differ.

Thus, aspiration pneumonia is accompanied by the following symptoms: respiratory failure - it becomes more frequent and deep; fatigue; strong dry cough, which is why a person is tormented by severe chest pain; fever; palpitations; sputum production when coughing. Lobar pneumonia occurs unexpectedly and with an acute manifestation of the following symptoms: severe chills; an increase in body temperature; heavy sweating; shortness of breath feeling of pain while breathing; cough with sputum.

For mycoplasma (which very often occurs in children) pneumonia is characterized by the dry nose; cough, most often dry, preceded by a sore throat; headache; diarrhea; malaise.

Symptoms of a segmental type of ailment can be:

• a sharp increase in temperature;
• cardiopalmus;
• the sensation of aches in the body;
• headache;
• excessive sweating;
• a sharp breakdown;
• muscle weakness;
• bouts of seizures can occur in children.

Interstitial pneumonia is accompanied by:

• fever;
• the acquisition of a bluish skin;
• a strong increase in body temperature;
• sputum cough;
• decreased appetite; headaches;
• disturbances in the heartbeat.

Bacterial pneumonia has symptoms such as:

• severe cough with sputum, often with impurities of purulent fluid and fetid odor;
• sharp weakness and malaise;
• dyspnea;
• complete refusal to eat;
• headache;
• an increase in body temperature up to forty degrees;
• heart rate disturbances.

Symptoms of focal pneumonia are:

• a slight increase in body temperature;
• fever lasting up to five days;
• heart palpitations;
• hard and hoarse breathing.

For viral pneumonia characterized by:

• vomiting
• cough short, but frequent, with sputum;
• heat;
• conjunctivitis;
• pharyngitis;
• dyspnea;
• wheezing on inhalation.

With abscessed pneumonia in humans, there will be:

• anorexia;
• retardation;
• confusion of consciousness;
• discoloration of the skin into a pale gray color;
• cough with sputum, which is characterized by blood impurities and an unpleasant odor.

Chronic eosinophilic pneumonia combines the symptoms of:

• small dry cough;
• a slight increase in temperature;
• chest pain
• the appearance of a rash on the skin;
• itching and burning of the affected skin;
• excessive sweating;
• weight loss.

The characteristic signs of hemorrhagic pneumonia are:

• nosebleeds;
• coughing up blood;
• lowering blood pressure;
• the intoxication of the body;
• high body temperature.

In almost all cases of the manifestation of one of the types of such a chronic disease, due to the sharp appearance of symptoms, the patient's condition deteriorates sharply, and in some cases can lead to death. Especially often children are exposed to such a sad ending due to improper, incomplete or untimely treatment. COMPLICATIONS

If proper and timely treatment of chronic pneumonia is carried out, it is possible to achieve a rather long period of withdrawal of symptoms and signs, which with this course is tantamount to recovery. However, the following consequences can often occur:

• the formation of an abscess of the lung;
• death of the lung;
• violations in the passage of air through the bronchi;
• respiratory or heart failure;
• the ingress of viruses, toxins, bacteria into the blood, which often leads to death;
• violation of the heart, inflammation of some of its parts;
• inflammation of the brain tissue;
• oncological neoplasms.

In some cases, in particular with interstitial chronic pneumonia, the consequences of the disease, i.e. improper therapy or its complete absence during an exacerbation, lead to the death of the patient. This happens especially often with children.

DIAGNOSTICS

Since there are a lot of types of chronic pneumonia, the diagnostic methods are aimed at elucidating the factors that became the causative agents of this disease. For this, the patient will need:

• undergo an examination with a doctor, in which a specialist will examine the skin, listen to the lungs;
• provide complete information about their previous illnesses, make possible suggestions about what was the beginning of the disease, tell about all the symptoms that accompany the disease. Such information will help the doctor understand what type of chronic pneumonia he is dealing with; 
• donate blood for biochemical analysis, which will confirm or deny the presence of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms related to inflammation;
• provide a sputum sample for laboratory tests;

In addition, the patient will need to undergo a hardware examination, which includes:

• radiography of the lungs and bronchi;
• the study of these organs with a bronchoscope, which will directly give a picture of the state of the respiratory tract;
• CT of the lungs;
• lung biopsy, in which a small particle of the organ is taken to confirm or deny the presence of cancerous tumors, as well as other effects on the lungs. Very often, a biopsy is performed with interstitial pneumonia.

PREVENTION In chronic pneumonia, prevention is considered to be maintaining strong immunity so that it is not affected by any of the factors and does not start the disease. In children, prevention is carried out in order to avoid the occurrence of this ailment at an older age. The prevention rules include: strengthening immunity with physical activity and hardening; a healthy lifestyle without addiction; seek help in time for the first symptoms of any type of chronic pneumonia; minimize or completely limit respiratory tract irritation; take preventive courses of examination and treatment in a clinical setting; constantly be monitored by qualified professionals.