Often after a visit to the doctor, patients hear a diagnosis of left-sided lower-lobe pneumonia. This ailment is quite common and with proper treatment does not entail dangerous consequences. Nevertheless, it is important to diagnose it in time and draw up the correct treatment regimen. So what are the causes of pneumonia? What symptoms should a sick person pay attention to? Is there any way to prevent the development of the disease?
What is an ailment?
To begin with, it’s worth understanding the meaning of the term “left-sided lower-lobe pneumonia”. As you know, the left lung consists of two lobes, and the right - of three. And each lung is divided into ten segments.
Pneumonia is a disease accompanied by pneumonia. The inflammatory process can be unilateral (left- or right-sided) or bilateral. Depending on the location, pneumonia can be total (the entire lung is affected), focal (there is only one or several small foci of inflammation), lobar (a certain proportion of the lung is affected) and segmental (the inflammatory process is limited to one or some segments). Sometimes you can hear the term "extrapulmonary left-sided lower lobe pneumonia" - as a rule, this means that the primary source of infection is located in other organs, for example, in the pleural cavity.
It is worth saying that the mortality rate among patients is about 5%. The fact is that the left-sided lower-lobe / focal pneumonia at the first stages can proceed secretly - patients seek help too late. And the likelihood of spreading the inflammatory process to the heart is also high.
It is worth saying that inflammation can have a different degree of severity. There is another classification scheme - there is out-of-hospital left-side lower lobar pneumonia (infection of the patient occurs by airborne droplets outside the walls of the hospital) and nosocomial, or nosocomial inflammation, in which the disease developed in the patient during his stay in the hospital.
The main causes of pneumonia
The inflammatory process develops as a result of the ingestion of pathogenic microorganisms into the body. Pathogens can be bacteria, viruses, fungal organisms. They can get from the external environment, as infections are transmitted by airborne droplets.
Naturally, the penetration of a pathogen into the respiratory system does not always lead to inflammation. Risk factors include smoking, a weakened immune system, the presence of chronic diseases in a patient - all this increases the likelihood of developing pneumonia. In some cases, the infection enters the lungs along with a blood stream from another source of inflammation in the body.
Medical history: left-side lower lobar pneumonia and its symptoms
In the initial stages, this form of inflammation may be completely asymptomatic. Patients report only constant weakness and fatigue, drowsiness, decreased performance. In the future, the situation is aggravated. A cough appears. Sometimes it is dry, but most often accompanied by sputum production. As the disease develops, sputum becomes plentiful, sometimes streaks of blood can be seen in it.
Patients complain of chest pain, especially on the left side (in the area of the heart). Soreness increases with coughing and taking a deep breath. Due to a lack of oxygen in patients, blueness of the lips and general pallor are often noted.
The temperature is constantly increasing, often rising to 40 degrees. Patients also have general symptoms of intoxication, including body aches, severe chills, nausea and lack of appetite, vomiting, severe headaches, and often even loss of consciousness. Of course, each patient has a different set of symptoms, with varying degrees of severity. Often, the symptoms of left-sided lower lobe pneumonia are confused with common pharyngitis or the common cold, especially when it comes to young children. This is the danger of pneumonia.
Characteristics of the symptoms depending on the pathogen
As already mentioned, left-side lower lobar pneumonia can develop against the background of the activity of viruses or bacteria. The above symptoms are present in almost any form of pneumonia, but each pathogen has some features.
For example, viral pneumonia is accompanied by a dry cough and constant shortness of breath. Patients complain of rapid fatigue, fever, and severe muscle weakness. But with a bacterial form, the body temperature is not so high, although the heat, of course, is present. A person can notice a strong wet cough, accompanied by sputum production.
Modern diagnostic methods
Correct and timely diagnosis is very important. When the first symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor, because, despite the existence of powerful antibacterial drugs, pneumonia can still be fatal:
- The patient must donate blood for analysis - during the study, you can notice an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, as well as an increase in the number of leukocytes, which indicates an inflammatory process.
- A biochemical analysis of blood samples is carried out, as well as a sputum test to detect the pathogen.
- Important for diagnosis and chest x-ray, which makes it possible to identify foci of inflammation.
- In some cases, fibrobronchoscopy is performed, which allows you to examine the patient's bronchi from the inside.
Left-sided lower-lobe pneumonia: drug treatment
It’s worth saying right away that it is dangerous to self-medicate in this case. Only a doctor can draw up an effective treatment regimen. If bacterial pneumonia is suspected, the patient is first prescribed antibiotics with a wide spectrum of effects, in particular, third or fourth generation fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins.
During this time, specific tests are carried out, the purpose of which is to accurately determine the pathogen. If pneumonia develops on the background of invasion by Legionella, pneumococcus, chlamydia, hemophilus bacillus and mycoplasmas, the doctor may prescribe more effective narrow-spectrum antibacterial drugs. But the tests need at least 3-4 days, and with pneumonia, you need to act quickly.
With viral pneumonia, doctors prescribe antiviral drugs, in particular, Zanamivir, Remantadin, Acyclovir. Unfortunately, drugs are only effective if they are taken in the first 48 hours after infection. In other cases, the patient is hospitalized and symptomatic treatment is carried out . Antibiotics for viral damage are useless, but they are still prescribed for the prevention of secondary bacterial complications.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that help relieve fever and soreness are used as adjuvants. Therapy lasts about 2-4 weeks, depending on the severity of the disease.
Proper patient care
Pneumonia is a serious illness in which a sick person needs careful care. Patients are shown bed rest, a minimum of physical activity and lack of stress. A person is better off in a carefully ventilated area, where wet cleaning is regularly carried out. If the treatment takes place at home, the patient needs to allocate a separate set of dishes to prevent the spread of infection.
A plentiful warm drink with inflammation is necessary, as it helps to accelerate the elimination of toxins from the body and prevent the development of dehydration. Eating patients need light, but high-calorie foods.
When does a patient need hospitalization?
Quite often, left-side lower lobar pneumonia is treated on an outpatient basis, at home. When is inpatient therapy necessary?
- All children under the age of three years must be hospitalized.
- The patient should be sent to the hospital if there is severe shortness of breath, fever (up to 39.9 degrees), or, conversely, a decrease in temperature to 35.5.
- If during the tests a strong decrease in hemoglobin level was found, as well as an increase in the level of urea and creatinine, treatment is best done in a hospital.
- Indications for hospitalization are impaired consciousness, a sharp decrease in blood pressure.
- If complications arise (including pleurisy, myocarditis, arthritis), the patient should be immediately taken to the hospital.
Preventive actions
Acute left-side lower lobar pneumonia is a dangerous ailment, which in the absence of therapy leads to dangerous complications, including pulmonary edema, shock, sepsis, meningitis and pericarditis, acute heart failure.
Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for pneumonia. Therefore, the only prevention is a healthy lifestyle. Proper nutrition, gradual hardening of the body, walking in the fresh air, quitting smoking and drinking alcohol, regular physical activity - all this strengthens the body, making it more resistant to pathogenic microorganisms.
All infectious and inflammatory diseases must necessarily respond to adequate treatment, and therapy should last until complete recovery. To strengthen immunity, it is recommended to take a course of vitamin therapy twice a year. And, of course, at the very first worsening of well-being, you should consult a specialist, because you may have community-acquired left-sided lower-lobe pneumonia.