X-ray image of staphylococcal pneumonia

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Nguyen Van Huong - Department of Diagnostic Imaging - Vinmec International Hospital Da Nang. The doctor has many years of experience in the field of diagnostic imaging.

Staphylococcal pneumonia is a rare and serious acute pneumonia. Chest X-ray is a technique used to diagnose staphylococcal pneumonia. X-ray images of staphylococcal pneumonia will be characterized by round, irregularly sized and asymmetrical pulmonary solidification lesions in both lungs.

Staphylococcal pneumonia is a disease caused by staph bacteria that attack the lungs and cause illness. Among the staphylococcus bacteria, staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of many infectious diseases in humans, including acute pneumonia.
Staphylococcus aureus is a dangerous bacteria, living parasitic on the lining of the upper respiratory tract such as the nose and throat, and they can also exist on the skin surface of the body. When attacking and entering the lungs, staphylococcus causes many foci of serious infection in the bronchioles and bronchi, leading to necrosis and bleeding. In foci of staphylococcal pneumonia, many neutrophils cause edema and abscess formation, which can lead to destruction of the alveolar walls.
In addition to the lungs, there are several types of staphylococcus that have the ability to attack the blood and cause very serious sepsis.
Staphylococcal pneumonia is a rare disease, but everyone is susceptible to infection, especially those with low resistance such as the elderly and young children. The disease is mainly transmitted from person to person through the respiratory tract, the disease can also be transmitted through blood.
In general, staphylococcal pneumonia seriously affects the health of the patient because this is a bacteria resistant to many antibiotics, when attacking the body to cause disease, they can cause many complications. dangerous disease.

To diagnose staphylococcal pneumonia, the patient will be assigned to perform tests such as X-ray, CT scan, blood and urine tests, sputum culture in the lungs, maybe even a biopsy of the lesion. lung injury.
In which, X-ray is the first, basic and valuable diagnostic imaging technique that allows observation of lesions inside the lungs. The doctor will use an X-ray machine to emit X-rays - which are short-wavelength rays with strong penetrating power to pass through soft tissue and fluid cells, thereby obtaining images of the lungs.
With this technique, on X-ray images of staphylococcal pneumonia, many inflammatory foci (white opacities) appear round, unequal in size and asymmetrical on both sides of the lungs. In addition, when performing cultures of sputum, blood, and pleural fluid, the presence of staphylococcal bacteria is seen.

Subjects with suspected staphylococcal infection and showing symptoms of the disease should have chest X-ray for early diagnosis and detection. Symptoms of staph pneumonia usually progress through 3 stages as follows:
Incubation and disease onset: At this stage, the patient appears symptoms such as digestive disorders, nausea, loss of appetite. , mild fever in the range of 38 - 39 degrees C. This stage lasts from 1 to 2 weeks from the time of infection with staphylococcus bacteria and the symptoms at this stage are similar to many other respiratory diseases. Inflammatory stage: At this stage, staphylococcal pneumonia causes severe infection and infection at a rapid rate. The patient begins to have a high fever, cough with sputum, shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and lethargy. If the patient also has other respiratory-related diseases, they will experience rapid breathing, impaired respiratory and circulatory function. At this time, if not examined and detected, timely treatment can cause many dangerous complications. Complications stage: At this stage, staphylococcal pneumonia progresses seriously and dangerously, which can cause complicated complications if the patient is not promptly diagnosed, detected and treated. Complications may occur such as lung abscess, pneumothorax, empyema, diaphragmatic hernia, acute respiratory failure. Staphylococcal pneumonia, if detected early by monitoring and recognizing symptoms, promptly going to medical facilities for diagnosis and treatment will help reduce the risk of complications caused by the disease.

In addition, the following subjects are also very susceptible to infection with staph bacteria that attack the lungs and cause illness. It is also important to pay attention to monitoring symptoms and timely examination, specifically:
People living in environmental conditions Poor hygiene environment due to poverty and hardship: Living in poverty leads to low nutrition, combined with poor hygiene will create conditions for bacteria to grow on the skin, leading to blood-borne staphylococcal infections, causing staphylococcal pneumonia. People who often use antibiotics indiscriminately: Buying antibiotics on their own without a doctor's prescription, or using them incorrectly and in doses can lead to antibiotic resistance, especially those diseases caused by bacteria such as staphylococcus. Patients in the hospital for a long time: Some patients with severe and chronic diseases that need to be treated in the hospital for a long time are very susceptible to staphylococcal pneumonia, especially those with pre-existing conditions. tracheal tube.

4.1 Treatment of staphylococcal pneumonia Like many other diseases, staphylococcal pneumonia should be detected early and treated to avoid leading to serious infections and infections in the lungs and blood. Depending on the condition and condition of the patient, the doctor will recommend an appropriate treatment plan.
Treatment time can last from 1 - 1.5 months. As mentioned above, staphylococcus is a bacteria with very strong antibiotic resistance, so depending on the location and condition, the doctor will prescribe a strong and suitable antibiotic such as Cephalosporin, Gentamicin, Methicillin , Oxacillin, Penicillin, ...
In case the respiratory function of patients with staphylococcal pneumonia is impaired, the patient cannot breathe and regulate themselves, it is necessary to combine intubation or use a ventilator.
Patients are also regularly monitored and checked for infection treatment status, assessing the extent of narrowing of inflammatory foci caused by staphylococcus, ...; at the same time supplemented and strengthened resistance with tonics and minerals.
4.2 Prevention of staphylococcal pneumonia Staphylococcal pneumonia can be prevented by the following measures:
Maintain personal hygiene and the surrounding environment to limit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Eat nutritious food and exercise regularly to improve resistance, immune system, and protect the body against pathogens. Avoid arbitrarily using antibiotics, only use antibiotics when prescribed by a doctor according to the instructions for use and dosage.

X-ray of staphylococcal pneumonia is one of the main methods used to diagnose and detect the disease besides blood and sputum tests. The images taken will show the foci of inflammation on both sides of the lungs caused by staphylococcus with irregular round shape and asymmetry.
Basically, staphylococcal pneumonia is a dangerous disease and needs to be hospitalized for treatment immediately. For the examination process at Vinmec International General Hospital, when the radiologist determines the possibility that this is an X-ray film of staphylococcal pneumonia, he will immediately contact the examining doctor to inform the patient. Report the condition and the examining doctor will contact the patient to inform about the health problem, and also provide an immediate solution to avoid delay. All procedures are carried out methodically, under the support of a team of experienced doctors. Thanks to that, the majority of patients after treatment have good progress results as well as minimize the after-effects.
Vinmec International General Hospital with a system of modern facilities, medical equipment and a team of experts and doctors with many years of experience in medical examination and treatment. Patients can completely rest assured examination and treatment of staphylococcal pneumonia at the Hospital.

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