Complications of community-acquired pneumonia

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Huy Nhat - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.

Pneumonia includes two types that are hospital-acquired pneumonia occurring in a hospital setting and community-acquired pneumonia. This is a disease that can have serious consequences for human health. So how dangerous are community pneumonia complications?

1. What is community-acquired pneumonia?

Community-acquired pneumonia includes out-of-hospital pulmonary infections, presenting with lobar pneumonia, spotty pneumonia, or atypical pneumonia. Common features are pulmonary consolidation syndrome and alveolar or interstitial opacity on chest radiographs; disease caused by bacteria causing community-acquired pneumonia, viruses, fungi and some other agents, but not by tuberculosis bacilli. This is a common disease in internal medicine and pediatric practice.

2. Complications of community-acquired pneumonia

Complications of community-acquired pneumonia are present in the lungs, in the thoracic cavity, with distant complications and antibiotic resistance.

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2.1. Complications in the lungs

The disease can spread to two or more lobes of the lung, the patient has more difficulty breathing, cyanosis of the lips; rapid pulse, the patient may die in respiratory failure, septic shock. Specific complications in the lung include:
Collapse of a lung: Due to thick sputum causing bronchial obstruction; Lung abscess: Very common, due to inadequate antibiotic use, patients have persistent fever, profuse purulent sputum; Acute pulmonary edema: This is a very dangerous acute respiratory distress syndrome, which can cause a high risk of death. Symptoms of the disease are shortness of breath, sweating, blue-violet skin, ...

2.2. Complications in the thoracic cavity

Pleural effusion is one of the dangerous community-acquired pneumonia complications that patients with pneumonia may experience. Clinical symptoms of the disease are high fever, cough, headache, weakness, severe chest pain, elevated white blood cell count; Pneumothorax, mediastinum: Usually caused by staphylococci; Emphysema: Patients with persistent fever, pleural puncture with pus, often occurs in the case of pleural pneumonia, or due to pleural puncture causing superinfection; Pericarditis: Symptoms of pain in the anterior region of the heart, pericardial rubbing sound is heard, usually purulent pericarditis.

2.3. Distant complications

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Sepsis: A dangerous complication of community-acquired pneumonia. Bacteria from the lungs can enter the circulatory system and lead to sepsis and septic shock. When patients experience this pneumonia complication, it is difficult to treat, costly and time consuming, seriously affects health and can lead to death; Acute pneumococcal endocarditis: This complication is rare, the patient has a feverish tremor, splenomegaly; Pneumococcal arthritis: Found in young people, usually only one joint is swollen, red, hot, painful; Peritonitis: Common in children; septic shock, delirium in alcoholics...; Pneumococcal meningitis : This is a rare complication, cerebrospinal fluid contains many pneumococcus, glucose is reduced, there are few polymorphonuclear leukocytes. This disease often leaves severe consequences for patients such as nerve damage, reduced cognitive ability, functional damage causing dumbness, blindness, deafness, ... and especially can be dangerous to the personality. network.

2.4. Complications of antibiotic resistance

Community-acquired pneumonia can lead to antibiotic resistance. If the patient encounters this phenomenon, it will be extremely difficult to treat, having to combine many antibiotics together, so it is expensive and the cure is very low. In the long run, the overuse of such antibiotics will lead to a weakening of the patient's immune system and disease prevention.
Besides the above complications of community-acquired pneumonia, patients can experience other dangerous complications that can also cause high mortality such as pericardial effusion, heart failure, progressive acute respiratory failure, abscess. brain,...
Therefore, to prevent possible community-acquired pneumonia complications for you and your loved ones, you should pay attention to the warning signs of pneumonia and go to medical facilities. promptly to get early, appropriate and proper treatment.

Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the hospitals that not only ensures professional quality with a team of leading doctors, modern equipment and technology, but also stands out for its examination and consulting services. and comprehensive, professional medical treatment; civilized, polite, safe and sterile medical examination and treatment space.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support.
Community-acquired pneumonia as well as respiratory diseases are examined and treated by a team of highly qualified and experienced doctors at Vinmec hospital. Including Master, Doctor Nguyen Huy Nhat with many years of experience in the field of respiratory disease treatment at Hue Central Hospital, Hoan My General Hospital, .. before being a doctor of General Internal Medicine Department. Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital.

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