Bugs
This gram-positive, catalase-negative, alpha-hemolytic bacterium, sensitive to optochin and bile soluble, causes rust-colored sputum in pneumonia.
What is strep pneumoniae?
This macrolide antibiotic, often used in healthy outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia, also covers atypical organisms like Mycoplasma.
What is azithromycin?
A common systemic complication of pneumonia, this condition can lead to organ dysfunction and is defined by hypotension requiring vasopressors after fluid resuscitation.
What is septic shock?
This is the standard imaging test used to confirm pneumonia by showing lung infiltrates.
What is a CXR?
This is the most common complication of thoracentesis, which presents as sudden chest pain and shortness of breath.
What is pneumothorax?
This gram-negative rod is a common cause of pneumonia in alcoholics and diabetics and is known for producing a thick, mucoid, “currant jelly” sputum.
What is Klebsiella pneumoniae?
This fluoroquinolone can be used as monotherapy in CAP for patients with beta-lactam allergy, but it carries risks of tendon rupture and QT prolongation.
What is levofloxacin?
In patients with underlying lung disease, recurrent lower respiratory tract infections can induce vascular remodeling and elevated pulmonary artery pressures, ultimately leading to this right heart complication.
What is cor pulmonale?
Patients with poor dentition, alcoholism, or seizure history are at elevated risk for pneumonia due to this mechanism.
What is aspiration?
According to Light’s criteria, a pleural fluid is classified as exudate if this ratio of pleural fluid protein to serum protein is greater than this number.
What is Greater than 0.5?
This obligate intracellular pathogen, transmitted by birds (especially parrots or pigeons), causes an atypical pneumonia known as psittacosis.
Chlamydophila psittaci
A patient develops post-influenza pneumonia with cavitary lesions, therapy must account for this resistant strain.
What is MRSA?
When infection spreads to the pleural space and results in pus, requiring drainage and prolonged antibiotics, this complication is diagnosed.
What is empyema?
This common lab test is often elevated in bacterial pneumonia and helps differentiate bacterial from viral causes by measuring this white blood cell type.
What is Neutrophil Count?
During thoracentesis, this is the safest intercostal space to insert the needle to avoid injury to the neurovascular bundle.
Just above the superior border of the ribs.
This atypical pneumonia pathogen lacks a peptidoglycan cell wall, is not visible on Gram stain, and is often associated with cold agglutinin-induced hemolytic anemia.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
Used for suspected MRSA pneumonia, this glycopeptide antibiotic inhibits cell wall synthesis by binding the D-Ala-D-Ala terminus of peptidoglycan precursors.
What is vancomycin?
This cavitary complication of pneumonia is characterized by air-fluid levels on chest imaging, foul-smelling sputum, and typically requires prolonged anaerobic coverage.
This clinical tool incorporates confusion, urea, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age ≥65 to estimate pneumonia mortality risk and need for inpatient care.
What is the CURB-65 score?
This rare but serious risk of thoracentesis involves bleeding into the pleural space, especially in patients with coagulopathy or on anticoagulants.
What is hemothorax?
This fungus, endemic to the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, causes pneumonia with hilar lymphadenopathy and can mimic TB or sarcoidosis.
What is Histoplasma capsulatum?
This bactericidal lipopeptide, which causes membrane depolarization by inserting into gram-positive bacterial membranes, is ineffective in lung infections due to inactivation by surfactant.
What is daptomycin?
A patient on broad-spectrum antibiotics for pneumonia remains febrile with new cavitary lesions on imaging. What is your suspected diagnosis, and why might the current regimen be insufficient?
What is a Lung abscess. These usually require specific anerobic coverage such as clindamycin
This population is at increased risk for pneumonia due to impaired mucociliary clearance, blunted cough reflex, and often a lack of classic symptoms like fever.
What are elderly patients?
In complicated parapneumonic effusions or empyema, this characteristic of pleural fluid (measured during thoracentesis) is usually very low, indicating poor prognosis and need for drainage.
What is serum glucose?