Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Pneumonia is a lung infection that can be caused by many different germs, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
This article discusses pneumonia that occurs in a person whose ability to fight infection is greatly reduced because their immune system is weakened and not working properly. Such disease is referred to as "pneumonia in an immunocompromised host."
See also:
Hospital-acquired pneumonia Pneumocystis jirovecii (previously called Pneumocystis carinii ) pneumonia Pneumonia - cytomegalovirus Pneumonia Viral pneumonia Walking pneumonia
Alternative Names
Pneumonia in immunodeficient patient; Pneumonia - immunocompromised host
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
People whose immune system is not working well are less able to fight off germs. Because of this state, they are more likely to become infected by germs that typically do not cause disease in healthy people. They are also more vulnerable to the usual causes of
Your immune system may be weakened or not work well because of:
Bone marrow transplant - Chemotherapy
HIV infection -
Leukemia , lymphoma, and other conditions that harm your bone marrow - Medications (including steroids, and those used to treat cancer and control autoimmune diseases)
- Organ transplant (including kidney, heart, and lung)
Review Date: 06/09/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in
Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division
of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
