Also called: Also called: Bronchopneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung, usually caused by an infection. Three common causes are bacteria, viruses and fungi. You can also get pneumonia by accidentally inhaling a liquid or chemical. People most at risk are older than 65 or younger than 2 years of age, or already have health problems.
If you have pneumonia, you may have difficulty breathing and have a cough and a fever. A physical exam and history can help determine if you have pneumonia. Chest x-rays and blood tests can help determine what is wrong. Treatment depends on what made you sick. If bacteria are the cause, antibiotics should help. Viral pneumonia may get better with rest and drinking liquids.
Preventing pneumonia is always better than treating it. The best preventive measures include washing your hands frequently, not smoking, and wearing a mask when cleaning dusty or moldy areas. There is a vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia, a bacterial infection which accounts for up to a quarter of all pneumonias.
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Pneumococcal Pneumonia
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/pneumonia/
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Pneumonia(American Lung Association) - http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060321&content_id={71CC3CFD-4B3E-49C8-AA88-D76EAE1FB9F5}¬oc=1
Also available in Spanish http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=36870
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Pneumonia
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/pneumonia/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/pneumoniaspanish/htm/index.htm
- Pneumonia(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pneumonia/DS00135/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Pneumonia(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pnu/pnu_whatis.html
- Statins May Cut Pneumonia Death, Blood Clot Risks(10/28/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70936.html
- Pneumonia May Raise Risk of Sudden Heart Trouble(10/28/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70933.html
- Oral Hygiene Curbs Pneumonia Risk in Elderly(10/23/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70775.html
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Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918 Influenza Pandemic: Implications for Future Pandemic Planning(08/19/2008, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2008/niaid-19.htm
- More News on Pneumonia http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_p.html#pneumonia
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Chest X Ray(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cxray/cxray_whatis.html
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Chest X-Ray (Radiography)(American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) - http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=chestrad&bhcp=1
Also available in Spanish http://www.radiologyinfo.org/sp/info.cfm?pg=chestrad
- Thoracentesis(American Thoracic Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.thoracic.org/sections/education/patient-education/patient-education-materials/patient-information-series/resources/thoracentesis.swf
- Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS)(Harvard Medical School) - http://www.health.harvard.edu/diagnostic-tests/video-assisted-thoracic-surgery.htm
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Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-PneumoConjugate.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.immunize.org/vis/sppnPCV7.pdf
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Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV23)(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-ppv.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.immunize.org/vis/sppne97.pdf
- Pneumococcal Vaccine: Questions & Answers(Immunization Action Coalition) - http://www.vaccineinformation.org/pneumchild/qandadis.asp
- Adenovirus(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/adenovirus.html
- Aspiration Pneumonia(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch042/ch042e.html
- Bronchiolitis Obliterans with Organizing Pneumonia (BOOP)(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/bronchiolitis-obliterans/AN00307/METHOD=print
- Community-Acquired Pneumonia(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch042/ch042b.html
- Hospital-Acquired and Institutional-Acquired Pneumonia(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch042/ch042c.html
- Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch050/ch050b.html
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JAMA Patient Page: Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/300/7/864.pdf
- Pneumonia in Immunocompromised People(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec04/ch042/ch042d.html
- Walking Pneumonia: What Does It Mean?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/walking-pneumonia/AN00137/METHOD=print
- HIV/AIDS and Lung Disease(American Lung Association) - http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060123&content_id={38C2BE86-CB46-42BD-BBCB-E10A9383BC05}¬oc=1
- Petroleum Jelly: Safe for a Dry Nose?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/petroleum-jelly/AN00947/METHOD=print
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Pneumonia(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/pneumonia/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/pneumoniaspanish/htm/index.htm
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How the Lungs Work(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hlw/hlw_what.html
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Pneumonia(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Pneumonia%22
- Can Thickened Liquids or Chin-Down Posture Prevent Aspiration?(American College of Physicians) - http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/148/7/I-39
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Randomized, controlled trial on tracheal colonization of ventilated infants: can... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18829800&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Cefepime/clindamycin vs. ceftriaxone/clindamycin for the empiric treatment of poisoned patients... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18788506&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Care at first-level facilities for children with severe pneumonia in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18715634&tool=MedlinePlus
- Pneumonia -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(pneumonia[majr]+NOT+(acquired+immunodeficiency+syndrome[mh]+OR+hiv+infections[mh]+OR+aids-related+opportunistic+infections[mh]))+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Lung Association - http://www.lungusa.org/
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
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National Institute on Aging - http://www.nia.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol/
- FASTATS: Pneumonia(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/pneumonia.htm
- Pneumococcus(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1456/mainpageS1456P0.html
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Pneumonia(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/pneumonia.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/comunes/pneumonia_esp.html
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Pneumonia(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/pneumonia.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/infecciones/pneumonia_esp.html
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Pneumonia(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/bacterial_viral/pneumonia.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/infecciones/pneumonia_esp.html
- Legionnaires' Disease - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/legionnairesdisease.html
- Pneumocystis Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pneumocystisinfections.html
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/severeacuterespiratorysyndrome.html
- Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
- Lungs and Breathing - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lungsandbreathing.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Pneumonia is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/
Pneumonia - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/pneumonia.html