Is it possible to die from pneumonia? According to WHO, pneumonia causes the death of twenty percent of children under five years of age worldwide. In Russia, this infectious disease is diagnosed annually in four to five million people.
Pneumonia is one of the forms of acute respiratory viral infections, which is characterized by damage to the upper respiratory tract. With pneumonia in the alveoli, fluid and pus accumulate, which makes breathing more difficult and limits the flow of oxygen.
Pneumonia mortality statistics
The prevalence of pneumonia in the adult population is five to ten percent, while among the elderly, about twenty to forty percent fall ill. Is it possible to die from pneumonia? There are fatal outcomes, as well as from a common cold. The statistics of deaths from pneumonia in Russia is approximately 1.2 per thousand population. The older the person, the greater the likelihood of complications of pneumonia. So, if among adults from sixteen to fifty years, mortality without aggravating diseases is approximately one to three percent, then among older people (after sixty five) there are more deaths - forty to fifty percent.
According to WHO statistics, the death of a child from pneumonia is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in the modern world. Annually, pneumonia kills about a million babies under five. But there are measures that can prevent the death of children from this disease. WHO recommend breastfeeding until the age of two (with the introduction of complementary foods after six months), vaccination against measles, whooping cough, acceptable sanitary conditions, and the use of clean water.
Causes of the disease
Inflammation of the lungs is a disease of an infectious nature, it can be caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi. The causes of pneumonia are usually streptococcus pneumoniae (the bacterium is more likely to cause illness in children) or haemophilus influenzae type b. A respiratory syncytial virus can also provoke pneumonia. In HIV-positive children and adults, one of the most common causes of pneumonia is the bacteria pneumocystis jiroveci.
Inflammation of the lungs is transmitted by airborne droplets (this is the most common way of infection) or through the bloodstream (for example, during childbirth). With weakened immunity, bacteria that provoke the development of the disease quickly descend into the lungs and begin to multiply actively. In rare cases, the cause of pneumonia is non-infectious infection. Then pneumonia can develop due to mechanical damage to the chest, exposure to the body of toxic substances or various kinds of radiation.
Classification of types of pneumonia
Pneumonia can be unilateral (only one lung was affected) or bilateral (both lungs are affected). Focal inflammation is also distinguished, in which a small area of the lung is affected, segmental pneumonia (one or several segments were affected), lobar (the disease spreads to the entire lobe of the lung) and total (covers the entire organ). How to treat pneumonia depends, inter alia, on the nature of the disease.
Community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia
Community-acquired (home, outpatient, non-nosocomial) and nosocomial (hospital, nosocomial) pneumonia are also distinguished . In the first case, the disease develops outside the hospital or during a short period of stay in the hospital (in the first two days). The risk of complications after pneumonia in adults and children in this case is minimal, the disease is relatively favorable. Nosocomial pneumonia occurs after 2-3 days of stay in a hospital facility. In this case, the course of the disease is quite severe, and the likelihood of a fatal outcome is higher.
Aspiration pneumonia
The cause of another type of pneumonia - aspiration - is the ingestion of gastric contents and foreign bodies into the respiratory tract. The severity of the patient's condition is explained by a chemical burn of the mucosa. Mortality in this case is very high, especially if aspiration pneumonia is chronic.
The clinical picture of pneumonia
Symptoms of pneumonia are very similar to those of a common cold or flu. For pneumonia of a bacterial nature, fever, cough with sputum separation, rapid breathing, rapid pulse, acute pain in the chest, trembling, and sweating are characteristic. Viral infection is more often manifested by dry cough, fever, muscle and headache, severe shortness of breath, weakness, and symptoms of overwork. Manifestations of the disease can be expressed both acutely and slightly weaker, which is more characteristic of pneumonia caused by mycoplasmas.
Bilateral pneumonia in adults (the danger in the time of detection of the disease increases - the later adequate treatment is started, the greater the likelihood of complications and even death) is manifested by standard symptoms. The patient develops a strong dry cough, runny nose, chills, sore throat, fever, which does not go astray. Acute bilateral pneumonia requires an integrated treatment approach.
What to do when symptoms of pneumonia appear?
If you have these symptoms, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible. Before that, you can take a suitable cough medicine and an antipyretic. An ambulance team must be called immediately if the general condition of the patient has deteriorated sharply after a cold or flu, breathing is difficult, there is fever, chills, and a persistent cough. It is especially important to immediately seek help if you suspect pneumonia in pregnant women, children, patients with chronic diseases or weak immunity, or the elderly.
What can a doctor do if pneumonia is suspected?
To confirm the diagnosis, x-rays are taken, the causative agent of the disease is determined using a special blood test or sputum. With pneumonia of a bacterial nature, antibiotics are prescribed, as a rule, the disease can be effectively treated at home. Hospitalization is indicated in severe cases. In case of respiratory failure, oxygen therapy is also performed.
Possible complications of pneumonia
What is dangerous pneumonia? With pneumonia, the infection can spread to the tissues closest to the site of inflammation or throughout the body (with blood or lymph flow), causing an inflammatory process. Particular types of pneumonia complications are:
- pleurisy;
- abscess and gangrene of the lungs;
- bronchial obstructive syndrome;
- acute respiratory failure;
- heart problems (endocarditis, pericarditis, myocarditis);
- DIC;
- brain problems (encephalitis and meningitis);
- certain mental disorders;
- infectious toxic shock;
- sepsis.
Death risk factors
Is it possible to die from pneumonia - a moot point. A lethal outcome, as a rule, occurs due not to pneumonia itself, but because of complications. The risk of death increases with the following risk factors:
- Concomitant diseases of the heart and blood vessels: myocardial infarction, hypertension, vascular atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, congenital and acquired heart defects.
- Pathology of the respiratory system: tuberculosis, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, primary pulmonary hypertension.
- The presence of bad habits: tobacco smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction.
- Diabetes mellitus and complications: nephropathy, angiopathy.
- Chronic diseases of the genitourinary system: renal failure, chronic glomerulonephritis.
- Age factor: infant and child age, elderly people over sixty five years old.
Sepsis (blood poisoning)
What is dangerous pneumonia is the many possible complications. Sepsis is one of the most dangerous consequences. The condition is characterized by the ingress of infections and toxins into the blood. The course of sepsis is accompanied by symptoms of intoxication, chills appear, the temperature rises. The general condition of the patients is usually severe. There is difficulty breathing, mild cough with a lot of sputum, signs of complicated otitis media, pleurisy, meningitis may appear.
How to treat pneumonia complicated by sepsis? Conservative treatment involves antibiotic therapy (oral or intravenous) and detoxification of the body. The prognosis for blood poisoning is not entirely favorable. Four to six million people die of it in the world every year. These statistics take into account all cases of infection, and not just those resulting from pneumonia.
Infectious Toxic Shock
Is it possible to die from pneumonia, which is complicated by the release of a large amount of toxins into the blood? This condition can cause disturbances in the work of the heart and kidneys, renal failure, a sharp decrease in blood pressure. In this case, a condition that threatens the patient’s life develops very quickly.
Low blood pressure, diarrhea and vomiting, rashes are added to the symptoms of pneumonia in case of toxic toxic shock. Medical measures are being carried out, the purpose of which is to fully restore the body, stabilize the main indicators, and replenish the energy deficit.
Lung abscess
Another complication of both conventional and bilateral pneumonia (a favorable prognosis with timely access to medical care) is a lung abscess. In this condition, the amount of sputum with an unpleasant odor increases sharply, symptoms of intoxication of the body appear. In mild cases, conservative (drug) treatment is prescribed, according to the indications, transfusion of blood components, bronchoscopy, and aspiration of the lung cavities are prescribed.
Distress syndrome
With pneumonia complicated by distress syndrome, the patient is immediately hospitalized in the emergency department. The main symptoms of a condition requiring immediate intervention by qualified doctors are difficulty breathing, symptoms of pulmonary edema, arterial hypoxemia, hypertension. Treatment is aimed at eliminating the disease that caused the development of distress syndrome. If this is not possible for any reason, doctors are limited to maintenance therapy. Sometimes artificial lung ventilation is performed.