Sample Nursing Case Study About Pneumonia
Pneumonia is quite a dangerous and common disease, especially in the cold season. People with weak immune systems are especially prone to it. There is a lot of sample nursing case study about pneumonia, but scientists still have a field for the research in order to develop the most reasonable methods of preventing, diagnosing and treating this disease.
The Relevance of the Topic
The acute form of pneumonia is observed in 10-14 people out of 1,000.
In the age group over 50 years, 17 out of 1,000 people are susceptible to this disease. The urgency of the problem of the incidence of acute pneumonia persists even despite the progressive achievements if medicine due to the high percentage of sequelas and lethality (up to 9%) from this disease. This makes a case study on pneumonia an important topic to research. Among the most common death causes, this disease is on the 4th place after heart and vascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, injuries, and poisonings. It can develop in weakened patients, joining the course of heart failure, cancer, impaired cerebral circulation, and complicates the outcome of the latter. In this situation, case study pneumonia is even more complicated.
In patients with AIDS, this illness is the main direct cause of death since an organism has no forces to fight with it.
Causes and Mechanism of Illness
A bacterial infection is the main reason of this disease. This is why streptococcus pneumonia case study should pay a great attention precisely to the appearance of this infection and the organism’s reaction to it.Also, this disease can develop due to the influence of non-infectious factors such as chest injuries, ionizing radiation, toxic substances, and allergic agents. In this situation the research of a disease if more complicated since a doctor should take all these factors into account.
The risk group for the development of the illness includes patients with congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis, chronic nasopharyngeal infection, congenital malformations of the lungs, severe immunodeficient conditions, weakened and emaciated patients, and elderly and senile people.Smoking and alcohol abusers are especially vulnerable to the development of complicated forms of illness. Nicotine and alcohol vapors damage the bronchial mucosa and depress the protective factors of the bronchopulmonary system, creating a favorable environment for the introduction and reproduction of infection.
Sequelae of Pneumonia
This illness is complicated if it is accompanied by the development of inflammatory and reactive processes. The course and outcome of the disease depend on the presence of sequelae in many ways. Its sequelae can be pulmonary and extra pulmonary.
Pneumococcal pneumonia case study shows that pulmonary sequelae may include obstructive syndrome, abscess, gangrene of the lung, acute respiratory failure, parapneumonic exudative pleurisy. Acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency, endocarditis, myocarditis, meningitis and meningoencephalitis, glomerulonephritis, infectious-toxic shock, anemia, psychosis, etc., often develop among extrapulmonary sequelae.
Diagnostics of Pneumonia
When diagnosing this illness, several problems are solved simultaneously: differential diagnosis of inflammation with other pulmonary processes, elucidation of the etiology and severity of pneumonia. It should be suspected on the basis of symptomatic signs: rapid development of fever and intoxication and coughing.
This explains the necessity of a case study on pneumonia for nurses. As it was said, this illness is rather typical for elder people, and as a rule, precisely nurses spend a lot of time with them. If a nurse is able to suspect this illness only on the basis of visible symptoms and tell a doctor about it, then the healing can be more successful.As a rule, the diagnosis is confirmed after lung radiography. Radiographs are usually done at the onset of the disease and after 3-4 weeks to exclude of other pathology.
The Healing of Pneumonia
Patients with this illness, as a rule, are hospitalized in the general therapeutic department or pulmonologist department.
For the period of fever and intoxication, bed rest, copious warm drink, high-calorie, vitamin-rich meals are prescribed. In severe manifestations of respiratory failure, patients are prescribed inhalation of oxygen. The main thing in the healing is antibacterial therapy. It is necessary to prescribe antibiotics as early as possible, without waiting for the definition of the pathogen. Selection of an antibiotic is performed only by a doctor. The choice of the method of administration of an antibiotic is determined by the severity of the course of the illness.
The course of healing can last from 7-10 to 14 days; it is possible to change the antibiotic.Detoxification therapy, immunostimulation, antipyretic, expectorant and mucolytic substances, antihistamines are recommended. Healing is carried out until the patient’s complete recovery, which is determined by the normalization of the state and well-being, physical, radiologic and laboratory indicators. With frequently repeated cases of disease of the same localization, the question of surgical intervention is solved.
Possible Prognosis
The prognosis is determined by a number of factors: virulence of the pathogen, age of the patient, background diseases, immune reactivity, and adequacy of healing.
Complicated forms of illness, a resistance of pathogens to antibiotic therapy are unfavorable with respect to the prognosis. This illness is especially dangerous if talk about children under 1 year. With timely and adequate medical measures, it ends in recovery.
Prevention of Pneumonia
Measures to prevent the development of this illness are to temper the body, maintain immunity, eliminate the hypothermia, stop smoking and use alcohol. It is advisable to perform respiratory and therapeutic gymnastics, massage if to talk about weakened recumbent patients.
