Focal pneumonia in the nurse’s practice

Pneumonia is inflammation of the alveoli of an infectious nature, which hasn’t previously clinical and radiological symptoms of a local lesion that will not be associated with other known causes. Two-thirds of all cases of pneumonia are focal pneumonia - a clinical variant in which the inflammatory process affects one or more lobules. This is the most extensive group in this nosology, it means that study and understanding are important in researching of problem. In 80% of all focal pneumonia the causative agent is pneumococcus, but other microorganisms may also be the cause of the pathology. The development and characteristics of the course of the disease can be considered into account the age of the patients, the general state of immunity and health and the human environment. Most often, the development of pneumonia is associated with aspiration of the oropharyngeal contents. The pathomorphological picture in stages corresponds to croupous pneumonia and consists of four stages: tide, red ward, gray ward, resolution. In different age groups focal pneumonia can occur in different ways. Often the onset of the disease is not always possible to fix, because it’s associated with the development of focal pneumonia after a viral infection or bronchitis. For the clinical picture of focal pneumonia the most characteristic are: cough with prominent mucopurulent sputum, shortness of breath, fever, auscultation of moist small bubbling rales over the lesion site, areas of obscuration on overview radiography of the lungs. The treatment of pneumonia should be etiotropic in the first place, however determination the pathogen takes time, so the antibiotic will be prescribed empirically. All patients with a specific diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia should be given systemic antibiotics as soon as possible. 48-72 hours after the start of treatment it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the antibiotic therapy regimen. In addition to etiotropic treatment, patients also receive pathogenetic and symptomatic treatment. The prognosis of the disease is often favorable. Those who underwent pneumonia are got sanatorium-resort treatment in low mountains, in forest zones, in areas with a warm, moderately humid marine climate.