Daisy Ochoa
Writing 116
TELA
Radiologist contributes in concluding the diagnostic of the pneumonia
patients, through interpretation of chest x-rays.
In the United States, it is considered to be one of top leading causes of death.
From the millions affected, approximately 40,000 to 70,000 people die each year. Many
people have lost their loved ones due to this type of respiratory infection. Pneumonia is a
respiratory infection of the lungs in which the alveoli sacs begin to get clogged up and
filled with fluids such as mucus, pus, and debris. The infection can take place in any
location of both lungs or in just one lung. Research from x-ray imaging, indicates that
most pneumonia infections tend to occur in the upper respiratory part of the lungs but can
reach to other parts of the organ as time progresses. Pneumonia can be classified into
several different types just like how the term diabetes can be specified into diabetes type
1 and diabetes type 2. The type of pneumonia is determined by the origin of the infection.
In other words, what type of micro-organism caused it and where did the infection take
place? The symptoms and the treatment of the patient, depends on the origin.
Of the several different types of pneumonia, the most common one people get is
known as the community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). As the name suggest, this type of
pneumonia is when people get it from the community. The location of the infection is
what determines the classification of pneumonia. The reason why it is considered to be
the most common one people get, is because the most common way to get it infected is
from other people in the community. CAP is when a person gets infected in the
community and not from the hospital. It is considered to be a different type of pneumonia
when people get infected in the hospital. This type of pneumonia is called hospitalacquired pneumonia (HAP). This is when a person comes into the hospital free of
pneumonia, and leaves the hospital infected with pneumonia. As the name of the type
suggest, this type of pneumonia is called hospital-acquired pneumonia because the
individual caught pneumonia in the location of a hospital. The individual is more prone to
get infected in the hospital when they stay hospitalized compared to when an individual
who walks in and leaves. Staying in the hospital gives the individual more time to be
exposed to the other infections and possibly catch pneumonia from another infected
patient. People who get pneumonia from a hospital stay are already suffering from a
weak immune system and need more attention than those who have CAP. Healthy
individuals that get CAP from the community, have a stronger immune system and have
a higher chance of fighting the infection off but hospital patients on the other hand
already have a weak immune system and lack the strength to fight off the infection.
The symptoms of pneumonia are very similar to those of a common cold and the
flu. Pneumonia tends to develop much easier when the immune system is weak. People
with the flu or cold can potentially develop pneumonia much quicker compared to the
healthy people. It doesn’t take long for the symptoms to occur as they do develop right
away. The common symptoms of someone with the infection of pneumonia are:
coughing, chills, muscle aches, headaches, fever, sneezing, sore throat, fatigue, weakness,
headache, nasal discharge, earache, stomach and intestinal distress, rapid breathing, fast
heartbeat, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath. Research from interpreting x-ray
images has shown that chest pain is highly correlated to the location of the infection in
the lungs. If the infection is located towards the lower part of the lungs then the patient
can experience abdominal pain too. The coughing in pneumonia patients is dry at the start
of the infection, after a while (usually a day), the person starts to cough up phlegm. The
phlegm is usually greenish or yellowish with strains of blood. Coughing up phlegm is
way that the body shows that it is trying to fight off the infection. Avoid taking coughing
medicine, because the point is to cough up the phlegm and not to keep it in your system.
The phlegm is a mucus fluid like substance where it clogs and block airways in which it
makes the individual hard to breathe smoothly. The person will have faster and shorter
breaths. The individual may feel like they are gasping for air and if necessary and inhaler
or an oxygen transporter may be needed. If the person needs additional help breathing,
hospitalization will be needed so that tubes may be inserted for oxygen transport.
Not all symptoms have to be present. The symptoms present all depends on the
type of infection. These are all common general symptoms and usually occur in adults.
Symptoms infants and in elders are very mild and sometimes absent. Recalling that if
someone who is already sick (low immune system) can get pneumonia much easier
compared to a healthy person. Anyone with a weak immune system makes it easier for
bacteria to grow in the respiratory system of the lungs.
A bacterium is one of the micro-organisms that cause pneumonia. Any exposure
to bacteria, viruses, and fungi can lead to a respiratory infection if the person cannot fight
it off with their immune system. Pneumonia is contagious and can be transmitted if the
person inhaled someone’s infected coughing or sneezing. Breathing the germs into your
lungs from an infected person is the common way of getting it. Another way someone
can get the infection is from breathing in of his or her own bacteria (bacteria is an
example). An example of such scenario would be to picture that a certain bacteria that is
naturally found living somewhere in the nostril found its way to travel all the way to
lungs where its not suppose to be. It can come from the nostril (nose), mouth, and throat.
The immune system response usually takes in control and combats it when this does
happen but if the immune system of the person is weak then the bacteria might win the
war and could eventually lead to pneumonia. Once the organisms enter the lungs, the
invasion begins. First, they settle in the air sacs and passages of the lung and begin to
grow and multiply in the lungs very fast until the area is very well infected. Over time as
the body tries to fight off the infection, the infected area becomes filled with fluids of
debris and pus. The tissue of the lungs begins the swell up as a form of defense. The
inflammation of this tissue also contributes to make the person harder to breathe.
The most common bacteria that cause pneumonia are Steptococcus pneumoniae.
Many patients that come into the hospital are diagnosed with this type of bacteria. There
are other types of bacteria that cause pneumonia but Steptococcus pneumoniae is the
most common one. This particular bacterium has been found to cause infections in the
upper respiratory areas. According to the statistics, this bacterium has caused mortality
rates to up to 10%. These deaths can be prevented. Patients who have a bacterial infection
can go through treatment with antibiotics to fight off the infection. Antibiotics are a form
a treatment or bacterial infections only. For patients who are suffering from a viral
infection, have to fight off the virus another way. On of the viruses that cause pneumonia
is called the Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Viruses that infect healthy adults can
usually fight off the virus themselves by keeping their immune system strong. Viral
pneumonia in infants, children, and elders are much more dangerous because their
immune system is much weaker compared to that of an adult. It is much more life
threatening for younger and older ages. The diagnosis of a patient with pneumonia at any
age is the same.
Before any x-rays are taken the doctor examines the patient’s breathing with a
stethoscope. The doctor analyzes the patients breathing. A healthy individual will have
smooth quiet breathing where as the pneumonia patient will have bubbly or crackly
breathing. These sounds are classified as rales. Once the doctor listens to the rales, they
tap at the stethoscope to listen to a dull thud. A dull thud is a sign of an infection in the
lungs. A healthy individual will have the sound of a hallow space not a dull thud. The
liquid building up in the lungs is what is causing the dull thud sound. After hearing the
dull thud and the breathing of an infected individual such as wheezing and bubbly. The
patient will be sent to go get a chest x-ray done. A chest x-ray is needed to confirm the
diagnosis of pneumonia. X-rays are body images captured trough light and radiation. The
energy penetrates the body to depict an image. Structures with a higher density will be
displayed as white and structures with a lower density will be black. Structures in
between those densities will come out in different shades of grey. For example, bone,
which has a high density, will come out as white and air (such as in the lungs) will come
out as black on the x-ray. A normal lung x-ray shows black empty space for the air, and
shows the white bones from the ribs. If an x-ray shows more than that such as a white
cloudy area, then this confirms the diagnosis of pneumonia.
Radiologist contributes to the well being of the patient by concluding the
diagnosis of the patient through x-ray analysis. These images of the human body are
taken to get a picture of what is going on in the human body. Radiologists then complete
the diagnosis of the patients in order to begin to treat the patient, whether if it’s a disease
or an infection. Chest x-rays are needed for pneumonia patients in order to help a
radiologist diagnosis where the infection is and how bad the infection has grown.
Research indicates that interpreting the chest x-rays helps confirm whether or not the
patient has pneumonia.
Once diagnose with the help of a radiologist, a treatment is suggested for patient.
Depending on the interpretation, the treatment can begin. If it is a bacterial infection, the
patient can take antibiotics usually penicillin. This antibiotic can kill the bacterial culture
to can stop the growth of it in the lungs. If it is a viral infection, the patient needs bed rest
and healthy foods to help fight off the infection. Research on how to treat fungi infection
was not mention is most likely still undergoing research on how to treat it. Once the
treatment period is over and completed with it is recommended that the patient is
vaccinated if not already. Flu shots are a common way to prevent pneumonia as it can
develop from recovering of the flu. If the identification of the type of micro-organism
cannot be obtained, researchers can grow the culture in the lab from a phlegm or blood
sample in order to proceed with the correct treatment.