Introduction:
Despite advances in antibiotics, infectious infections continue to be a serious concern for healthcare workers worldwide. Pneumonia, an infection of the lung parenchymal tissue, is one such infectious condition that requires careful management. This infection is divided into two types: hospital acquired pneumonia and community acquired pneumonia (Scarfone, 2015).
Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP):
Community-acquired pneumonia, or CAP, is a disease that occurs in people who live in a community, rather than in a hospital. Bacteria and viruses are among the organisms that cause this type of pneumonia. Bacterial pathogens are very frequent. Pneumococcus, Staphylococcus aureus, and Haemophilus influenzae are all examples of pathogens. Influenza and parainfluenza viruses, Herpes simplex virus, Cytomegalovirus, and varicella zoster virus are among the viral diseases. The symptomatology in CAP varies greatly from mild disease to fulminant infection. The pulmonary presentation includes a cough (may or may not be productive), breathlessness, pleuritic chest pain, shortness of breath and hemoptysis. Systemic symptoms associated include fever, chills, vomiting, fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, tachycardia, decreased appetite. Signs of CAP include tachycardia, tachypnea, dull percussion note, crackles and use of accessory breathing muscles. Health professionals must ensure prompt and adequate management to avoid complications into respiratory failure or septic shock (José, Periselneris & Brown, 2015).
Nursing Practice in CAP:
In the nursing practice, such a patient must have pulse oximetry, temperature, respiratory rate, heart rates and blood pressures taken.
Treatment and Management:
When encountered with CAP case, the healthcare team must ensure proper hydration and administration of oxygen. When the microbial studies are available, appropriate antibiotic therapy should be administered otherwise empirical treatment is started with a macrolide, fluoroquinolones or beta-lactamase-resistant penicillin like amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. As nurses, appropriate pain and fever management is central in making the patient comfortable (Musher & Thorner, 2014). Clinical assessment is essential to determine who is managed as an outpatient and who is admitted.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, CAP is an infectious disease, caused by various pathogens in the lung parenchyma, outside hospital setting that must be recognized early and managed optimally.
References
José, R. J., Periselneris, J. N., & Brown, J. S. (2015). Community-acquired pneumonia. Current opinion in pulmonary medicine, 21(3), 212-218.
Musher, D. M., & Thorner, A. R. (2014). Community-acquired pneumonia. N Engl J Med, 2014(371), 1619-1628.
Scarfone, R. (2015). Community Acquired Pneumonia.
