What clinical manifestations should the nurse expect when assessing a client with pneumococcal pneumonia?
SymptomsThe symptoms of PCP can develop over several days or weeks and include 1,6 – 8 Show
Contact your healthcare provider if you have symptoms that you think are related to PCP. Risk & PreventionWho gets PCP?Pneumocystis jirovecii, the fungus that causes Pneumocystis pneumonia. PCP is extremely rare in healthy people, but the fungus that causes this disease can live in their lungs without causing symptoms. In fact, up to 20% of adults might carry this fungus at any given time, and the immune system removes the fungus after several months. 8 Most people who get PCP have weakened immune systems, meaning that their bodies don’t fight infections well. About 30-40% of people who get PCP have HIV/AIDS. 7,9 The other people who get PCP are usually taking medicine (such as corticosteroids) that lowers the body’s ability to fight germs or sickness or have other medical conditions, such as:7,9
There is no vaccine to prevent PCP. A healthcare provider might prescribe medicine to prevent PCP for people who are more likely to develop the disease. The medicine most commonly used to prevent PCP is called trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), which is also known as co-trimoxazole and by several different brand names, including Bactrim, Septra, and Cotrim. Other medicines are available for people who cannot take TMP/SMX. Medicine to prevent PCP is recommended for some people infected with HIV, stem cell transplant patients, and some solid organ transplant patients. 9-13 Healthcare providers might also prescribe medicine to prevent PCP in other patients, such as people who are taking long-term, high-dose corticosteroids. How Pneumocystis pneumonia SpreadsPCP spreads from person to person through the air. 15-17 Some healthy adults can carry the Pneumocystis fungus in their lungs without having symptoms, and it can spread to other people, including those with weakened immune systems. 8 Many people are exposed to Pneumocystis as children, but they likely do not get sick because their immune systems prevent the fungus from causing an infection. 18 In the past, scientists believed that people who had been exposed to Pneumocystis as children could later develop PCP from that childhood infection if their immune systems became weakened. 8,19 However, it is more likely that people get PCP after being exposed to someone else who has PCP or who is carrying the fungus in their lungs without having symptoms. Diagnosis and TestingPCP is diagnosed using a sample from a patient’s lungs. The sample is usually mucus that is either coughed up by the patient (called sputum) or collected by a procedure called bronchoalveolar lavage. Sometimes, a small sample of lung tissue (a biopsy) is used to diagnose PCP. The patient’s sample is sent to a laboratory, usually to be examined under a microscope. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can also be used to detect Pneumocystis DNA in different types of samples. A blood test to detect β-D-glucan (a part of the cell wall of many different types of fungi) can also help diagnose PCP. 21 Treatment and OutcomesPCP must be treated with prescription medicine. Without treatment, PCP can cause death. The most common form of treatment is trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), which is also known as co-trimoxazole and by several different brand names, including Bactrim, Septra, and Cotrim. This medicine is given by mouth or through a vein for 3 weeks. TMP/SMX can cause side effects such as rash and fever. Other medicines are available for patients who cannot take TMP/SMX. StatisticsThe exact number of cases of PCP in the United States is difficult to determine because there is no national surveillance for the disease. Before the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, PCP was uncommon. In fact, clusters of PCP were one of the first signs that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was beginning in the United States. 21 PCP soon became one of the main AIDS-defining illnesses in the United States. In the late 1980s, an estimated 75% of people living with AIDS developed PCP. 23 Since then, PCP in people living with HIV/AIDS has decreased substantially due to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and preventive treatment with TMP/SMX. 2,24,25 Now, PCP is still a serious health concern for people living with HIV/AIDS or other conditions that weaken the immune system.9 In a study of HIV-infected patients in the United States and Canada, PCP was the most common opportunistic infection during 2008–2010.24 There were 10,590 estimated U.S. hospitalizations due to Pneumocystis pneumonia in 2017.20 Read more about the burden of fungal diseases in the United States here. PCP is also a common opportunistic infection among people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. 27 What are the signs and symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia?Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, stiff neck, confusion, increased sensitivity to light, joint pain, chills, ear pain, sleeplessness, and irritability. In severe cases, pneumococcal disease can cause hearing loss, brain damage, or death.
What are the three 3 most common symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia lung disease )?Symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia, a lung infection, include: Fever and chills. Cough. Rapid breathing or difficulty breathing.
Which clinical manifestation should nurse observe in patient with pneumonia?Respiratory assessment should further identify clinical manifestations such as pleuritic pain, bradycardia, tachypnea, and fatigue, use of accessory muscles for breathing, coughing, and purulent sputum.
What is the usual clinical manifestation of pneumonia?Common symptoms of pneumonia include: a cough – which may be dry, or produce thick yellow, green, brown or blood-stained mucus (phlegm) difficulty breathing – your breathing may be rapid and shallow, and you may feel breathless, even when resting. rapid heartbeat.
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