What department does pneumonia go to?

Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
Updated on September 16, 2024
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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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Types of Pneumonia

Now let's talk about what pneumonia is and its classification. Pneumonia refers to inflammation of the terminal airways, alveoli, and pulmonary interstitium. It can be caused by pathogenic microorganisms, physicochemical factors, immune damage, allergies, and drugs. Bacterial pneumonia is the most common type of pneumonia and is also one of the most common infectious diseases. The classification of pneumonia generally involves several aspects: First is the anatomical classification: from an anatomical perspective, it can be divided into lobar pneumonia (alveolar pneumonia), bronchopneumonia (bronchial pneumonia), and interstitial pneumonia. Second, the classification based on etiology, which mainly includes the following aspects. The first is bacterial pneumonia, which includes Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia, and Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia, etc. The second point is pneumonia caused by atypical pathogens such as Legionella, Mycoplasma, and Chlamydia. The third is viral pneumonia. The fourth refers to fungal diseases or fungal pneumonia. The fifth is pneumonia caused by other pathogens: such as rickettsiae, parasites. The sixth is pneumonia caused by physicochemical factors: such as radiation pneumonia, inhalational pneumonia, and lipid pneumonia. The third category is classification by the environment of illness, which can be divided into two types: the first is community-acquired pneumonia, and the second is hospital-acquired pneumonia.

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Written by Hu Qi Feng
Pediatrics
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Pediatric pneumonia nursing measures

The nursing measures for children's pneumonia include ensuring indoor air circulation, maintaining a temperature between 18 to 24 degrees Celsius, and keeping humidity at 60%. Nutritionally rich diets should be provided. For severely ill children who have difficulty eating, parenteral nutrition can be given. Nursing care should include regular changes in position to reduce lung congestion, frequent back patting to help absorb inflammation and expel phlegm, isolation to prevent cross-infection, and attention to the replenishment and correction of water and electrolytes. Electrolyte imbalance should be addressed, and proper fluid supplementation can also help in opening the airways, but it is important to ensure that the infusion rate is not too fast as it may increase the burden on the heart.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
Pulmonology
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Can pneumonia heal by itself?

Pneumonia is generally not self-healing; only a few pneumonia cases caused by specific pathogens, which lead to milder infections, can heal by themselves, such as pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is self-limiting and can heal. However, most cases of pneumonia require standard treatment, such as pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, if diagnosed with pneumonia, it is essential to seek immediate medical attention at a hospital. Relying on self-healing is unrealistic since self-healing cases are rare, and most pneumonia cases require standard treatment to recover.

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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.

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Differential Diagnosis of Pediatric Pneumonia

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.