Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Nosocomial pneumonia; Ventilator-associated pneumonia; Health-care associated pneumonia
Treatment
Treatment aims to cure the infection with antibiotics. An antibiotic is chosen based on the specific germ found by sputum culture.
However, the bacteria cannot always be identified with tests. Antibiotic therapy is given to fight the most common bacteria that infect hospitalized patients, taking into account the most common bacteria in each hospital -- Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative bacteria.
Supportive treatment includes:
- Oxygen
- Lung treatments to loosen and remove thick mucus from the lungs
Support Groups
Expectations (prognosis)
Most patients respond to treatment and improve within 2 weeks. However, hospital-acquired pneumonia can be very severe and sometimes life-threatening.
Patients who also have many other serious conditions do not do as well.
Complications
Elderly or very weak patients who do not respond to treatment may die from acute respiratory failure caused by the pneumonia.
Previous Section
Review Date: 02/19/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of
Medicine; and Denis Hadjiliadis, MD, Assistant Professor of
Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care,
Unviersity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. 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)
