Differential Diagnosis of Pediatric Pneumonia

Written by Li Jiao Yan
Neonatology
Updated on September 06, 2024
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Childhood pneumonia needs to be differentiated from other respiratory diseases such as bronchial foreign bodies, bronchial asthma, and pulmonary tuberculosis. A bronchial foreign body generally has a history of inhalation of foreign objects, sudden choking coughs, and a chest X-ray might indicate atelectasis or pulmonary emphysema. If the foreign body has been present for a long time, the disease course is prolonged and may lead to secondary infections, similar to pneumonia or concurrent with pneumonia. The differentiation of bronchial foreign body involves detailed medical history inquiries to check for inhaled foreign objects, then using symptoms and auxiliary examinations like chest X-rays for confirmation. Bronchial asthma, especially in children, might not always present with obvious wheezing attacks but rather persistent coughing. The X-ray might show increased and disordered lung markings and pulmonary emphysema, which can easily be confused with pneumonia. Typically, children with bronchial asthma have an allergic constitution and generally require pulmonary function tests and other auxiliary examinations to differentiate from pneumonia. Pulmonary tuberculosis generally occurs in those with a history of contact with tuberculosis patients. Their tuberculin skin test is positive, and X-rays may show features of tuberculosis lesions in the lungs, which can be used to differentiate from pneumonia.

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Written by Hu Xue Jun
Pulmonology
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What can you eat with pneumonia?

What can pneumonia patients eat? Pneumonia is usually an acute illness, often accompanied by symptoms such as excessive phlegm, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain, which demand strict dietary considerations. A good diet ensures that pneumonia patients get enough fluids and calories, which helps in the treatment of pneumonia. Patients can consume foods rich in quality protein, high calories, and vitamins, such as eggs, animal liver, cornmeal, buckwheat flour, and a moderate amount of fruits and vegetables. Foods like black fungus, seaweed, kelp, and mushrooms can also be included more frequently. It is important for patients to drink plenty of water. Pneumonia patients may experience fever and sweat a lot; drinking more water can help replenish fluids in a timely manner, prevent excessive loss of fluids, and more frequent urination helps in faster elimination of metabolic waste from the body, aiding in the recovery from the disease.

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Written by Hu Xue Jun
Pulmonology
1min 28sec home-news-image

Is pneumonia contagious?

Pneumonia can be divided into many types, including viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, and those caused by special bacteria such as tuberculosis bacillus, and atypical bacteria such as Legionella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, etc. Generally, pneumonia does not cause large-scale disseminated transmission, because most people have normal immune systems that can resist these less virulent bacteria; however, in populations with lower immunity, inhaling droplets from patients with bacterial pneumonia can potentially lead to pneumonia. However, pneumonias caused by "SARS", anthrax, pneumonic plague, etc., are highly contagious and can cause large-scale transmission through droplets, and these are strictly controlled infectious diseases in our country. In cases of open tuberculosis, the patient's sputum and cough droplets might contain the pathogen, which could then infect those in close contact. Infectious pneumonia typically has an abrupt onset, with an incubation period of 2-10 days, and fever as the initial symptom, generally above 38℃, possibly accompanied by chills, coughing, scant sputum, occasional bloody sputum, palpitations, shortness of breath, and in some cases, difficulty breathing. It may also be accompanied by muscle soreness, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and diarrhea.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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What department does pneumonia go to?

What department should I go to for pneumonia? Pneumonia, as the name suggests, is a lung disease, which is to say it is a disease of our respiratory system. Therefore, the most appropriate department to visit would be the Department of Respiratory Medicine. If the patient's condition is relatively stable, they can visit the outpatient Respiratory Medicine department. Of course, there are a small number of patients whose condition is very critical, and in such cases, they must first visit the Department of Emergency Medicine. The doctors in Emergency Medicine will decide based on the patient's condition whether their next step should be to go to Respiratory Medicine, be admitted for in-hospital treatment, remain in the emergency for observation, or need to be admitted to the ICU for further emergency treatment.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Can pneumonia vaccines prevent mycoplasma pneumonia?

Can pneumonia vaccines prevent Mycoplasma infections? First, we need to understand what pneumonia vaccines are. In our country, the most commonly used pneumonia vaccines are aimed at Streptococcus pneumoniae, which are divided into polysaccharide vaccines and conjugate vaccines. Polysaccharide vaccines are mainly suitable for individuals over two years old and include the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine. This vaccine can prevent infections caused by twenty-three serotypes that often lead to S. pneumoniae infections, with over 90% of pneumonia caused by these twenty-three serotypes. However, the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine does not prevent infections caused by other serotypes of S. pneumoniae. Additionally, the conjugate vaccine only prevents infections caused by either seven or thirteen serotypes. Since Mycoplasma is neither a bacterium nor a virus, it cannot be prevented by pneumonia vaccines, and currently, there is no vaccine available specifically for Mycoplasma infections.

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Written by Yang Feng
Pulmonology
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Symptoms of pneumonia in children

Pneumonia is a particularly common infectious disease of the respiratory system, and infants and young children are especially susceptible to pneumonia because their immune systems are much weaker than those of healthy adults. When infants and young children develop pneumonia, their symptoms differ from adults; they often exhibit only fever, crying, nausea, vomiting, etc. The symptoms of coughing and phlegm are relatively less obvious, making the diagnosis of pneumonia in infants and young children somewhat more difficult. If a patient exhibits fever, auscultation and routine blood tests can be used to preliminarily determine the presence of an infection. If pneumonia is suspected, further comprehensive imaging examinations can be conducted to confirm the diagnosis.