Good for the elderly
Worldwide, Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacteria that is most often responsible for CAP in adults. Some other common bacteria that cause CAP are: Haemophilus influenzae .
Pneumonia in the elderly happens fast and the prognosis is poor, and elderly are susceptible to severe Pneumonia . The mortality rate for severe pneumonia is as high as 20% [4]. The principal cause of the death is respiratory insufficiency [5].
Age group varied from 66 years to 88 years. Presentation varied from typical symptoms to altered sensorium. Smoking and COPD were most common predisposing conditions. Most common organisms responsible were Streptococcus pneumonia , Klebsiella pneumonia , Pseudomonas, H.
Patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia or who are admitted to the intensive care unit should be treated with a beta -lactam antibiotic, plus azithromycin or a respiratory fluoroquinolone.
With treatment, most people improve within 2 weeks. Older adults or very sick people may need longer treatment. Those who may be more likely to have complicated pneumonia include: Older adults.
There are four stages of pneumonia , which are consolidation, red hepatization, grey hepatization and resolution.
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be serious in older adults . In the U.S., nearly 250,000 people are hospitalized with pneumonia each year, and about 50,000 die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seniors are at high risk for complications and death.
This can lead to a rapid decline in condition. Most people do eventually recover from pneumonia. However, the 30-day mortality rate is 5 to 10 percent of hospitalized patients. It can be up to 30 percent in those admitted to intensive care.
The most common physical symptoms in the final stages are: feeling more severely out of breath . reducing lung function making breathing harder. having frequent flare-ups. finding it difficult to maintain a healthy body weight. feeling more anxious and depressed.
The symptoms of pneumonia in older individuals can differ from those in other age groups. Older adults with pneumonia may be more likely to: feel weak or unsteady, which can increase the risk of falling. be without a fever or have a body temperature that’s lower than normal.
When you are caring for a senior with pneumonia , you can expect a recovery time as long as six to eight weeks. This increased recovery time is due to the weakened state of the elderly with the illness and their body’s inability to fight off the bacteria that pneumonia produces in their lungs.
Symptoms Chest pain when you breathe or cough . Confusion or changes in mental awareness (in adults age 65 and older) Cough , which may produce phlegm. Fatigue . Fever, sweating and shaking chills. Lower than normal body temperature (in adults older than age 65 and people with weak immune systems) Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
See your doctor to rule out pneumonia if shortness of breath , cough, or chest congestion also develop. Seek emergency care at a Dignity Health ER or urgent care clinic for the following symptoms: Bluish color of the lips or fingernails. Confusion or lethargy.
Severe CAP is defined as a pneumonia requiring supportive therapy within a critical care environment, that is associated with a higher mortality rate. Severe CAP is frequently a multisystem disease and patients will often present with multiple organ failure.
Macrolides . The best initial antibiotic choice is thought to be a macrolide . Macrolides provide the best coverage for the most likely organisms in community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CAP). Macrolides have effective coverage for gram-positive, Legionella, and Mycoplasma organisms.