Can Bronchitis Turn Into Pneumonia
Bronchitis can escalate to pneumonia if you do not get treatment. Bronchitis is a lung illness caused by an inflammation of the airways leading to the lungs. Pneumonia is a lung illness that can affect one or both lungs. If untreated bronchitis is not treated, the infection can spread from the airways to the lungs. This second stage of the disease is called “acute bronchitis turning to pneumonia.”
Pneumonia is more serious than bronchitis. With pneumonia, your respiratory system is affected by bacteria or viruses. The virus or bacteria may come from someone else or the organism may be present in the environment. For example, bacteria that cause pneumonia are found in the air and water around us. When you breathe in these organisms, they can settle in your lungs where they can grow and infect cells.
People often think that pneumonia means full-body pain. In fact, the body’s defense mechanism is responsible for any pain you feel during pneumonia. Your immune system is trying to fight off the invading organism. Thus, when you have pneumonia, you experience pain because of this powerful response by your body.
The most common cause of pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae . This bacteria can be found in the nose, throat, and stomach of humans. When someone with pneumococcal pneumonia eats or drinks something contaminated with the bacteria, they can pass it on to others.
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How Is Pulmonary Fibrosis Treated
Most pulmonary fibrosis treatments focus on easing symptoms and improving your quality of life.
Your provider may recommend one or more treatments:
- Medication: Two medications pirfenidone and nintedanib may slow down lung scarring. These medications can help preserve lung function.
- Oxygen therapy: Giving your body extra oxygen helps you breathe more easily. It may also increase your energy and strength.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation: Staying active in this special exercise program may improve how much you can do everyday tasks or activities.
- Lung transplant: A lung transplant replaces one or both diseased lungs with a healthy lung from a donor. It offers the potential to improve your health and quality of life. A lung transplant is major surgery, and not everyone is a candidate. Ask your provider if you may be eligible for a lung transplant.
When Should I Call My Provider
In some cases, pulmonary fibrosis gets a lot worse, all at once. You should call your provider if you suddenly feel a big difference in symptoms.
For example, call your provider if youre coughing a lot more than usual or have any other symptoms that seem new or alarming. See a provider right away if you experience any difficulty breathing that you cant control.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
If you have pulmonary fibrosis, you will likely see a pulmonologist long-term for regular follow-up visits. Your healthcare provider will work with you to preserve your lung function and maintain the highest possible quality of life. They will help find the right combination of medication, supportive care and clinical trials to treat the ways pulmonary fibrosis affects you. Connecting with a pulmonary fibrosis support group may provide firsthand insights and advice from people who have faced similar challenges.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 04/05/2021.
References
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Can Coronavirus Patients Lessen The Chance Of Lung Damage
There are things patients can do to increase their chances for less severe lung damage, Galiatsatos says.
If you have a health issue that puts you at higher risk, make sure youre doing everything you can to minimize the chance of contracting the virus. Also, make sure that your chronic health conditions are managed as well as they can be. For example, people living with diabetes, COPD or heart disease should be especially careful to manage those conditions with monitoring and taking their medications as directed.
Galiatsatos adds that proper nutrition and hydration can also help patients avoid complications of COVID-19. Staying well fed is important for overall health. Proper hydration maintains proper blood volume and healthy mucous membranes in the respiratory system, which can help them better resist infection and tissue damage.
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Are There Resources Available For Patients And Caregivers
The Lung Association recommends patients join the Living with Pulmonary Fibrosis and caregivers join the Caring for Pulmonary Fibrosis online support communities to connect with others facing this disease. You can also call the Lung Association’s Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA to talk to a trained respiratory professional or registered nurse who can answer your questions and connect you with support.
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Can Lung Damage From This Virus Be Reversed In Any Way How Likely Is An Infected Person Able To Recover And Regain Lung Function
Current treatments are effective in reducing the amount of initial damage, reducing the severity, aimed at reducing the amount of propagating injury and the duration. Depending on the severity of respiratory inflammation and damage, as well as patient comorbidities, duration of injury and genetics, patients can see improvement in their lung function. Analogous to having pneumonia, over time, patients lung function can recover. Looking at previous experience with SARS and MERS coronaviruses, studies following patients after developing pulmonary fibrosis showed that pulmonary lesions diminished primarily in the first year after recovery. In cases of severe inflammation, the challenge is with the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Chronic inflammation has been considered as the main cause of pulmonary fibrosis and may lead to epithelial damage and fibroblast activation. Studies are ongoing that test antifibrotic agents.
Lung Damage Complications In Covid
As we near the year mark of the COVID-19 battle, doctors and surgeons are still learning about the virus and the potential long-term health concerns COVID survivors may endure. We know people with COVID-19 have reported a wide range of symptoms varying from mild to severe, and now physicians are reporting some patients lungs look worse than the lungs of people who have been smoking for years.
Thoracic surgeon Rachel Medbery, M.D. recently shared what she is seeing firsthand when treating COVID survivors with lung damage on Fox 7 Austin and The List.
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Who Is More Likely To Get Pulmonary Fibrosis
Certain risk factors, like smoking, may make it more likely you could develop pulmonary fibrosis. But even having one or more risk factors doesnât mean youll definitely get the disease one day.
Other risk factors of pulmonary fibrosis include:
- Older age: Most people who get pulmonary fibrosis develop it in the second half of life, between ages 50 and 70.
- Male biological sex: Pulmonary fibrosis affects more men than women. However, cases in women have risen in recent years.
- Smoking: Cigarette smoking increases your risk of getting pulmonary fibrosis.
- Working around dust or fumes: Regularly breathing in chemicals or hazardous substances can damage the lungs. Farmers, ranchers, hairdressers, stone cutters/polishers and metal workers may be at increased risk.
- Other medical conditions: In some cases, another medical condition leads to pulmonary fibrosis .
- Other factors: Radiation exposure, such as radiation therapy to treat cancer, can damage lung tissue. So can some medications, including chemotherapy and certain heart medications.
What Is Pulmonary Fibrosis
In technical terms, fibrosis means thickening or scarring of the tissue. In this case, the normally thin, lacy walls of the air sacs in the lungs are no longer thin and lacy, but get thick, stiff and scarred, also called becoming fibrotic. With this scarring, the architecture of the lung gets stiffer and is less efficient at delivering oxygen into the blood stream. In addition, the stiffness or fibrosis of the tissue makes it more difficult to expand the lungs and breathe. It takes more effort to breathe and this additional demand of energy leads to shortness of breath.
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Meaning Of Lung Scarring From Pneumonia
A common lung infection known as pneumonia arises in the alveoli. Chest discomfort, shortness of breath, and sputum production are common signs of pneumonia. Symptoms of pneumonia often persist no more than a few days. Its important to realize that if no progress is shown after two weeks, the problem is significant.
Its possible to develop lung scarring from pneumonia, also known as pulmonary fibrosis in the lungs, due to severe pneumonia. However, the lungs are not permanently damaged if correct medicines are used. Pleural or bronchiectasis may develop as a result of lung scarring from pneumonia.
Case Of Pulmonary Fibrosis From Covid Pneumonia
SESSION TITLE: Medical Student/Resident Lung Pathology
SESSION TYPE: Med Student/Res Case Rep Postr
PRESENTED ON: October 18-21, 2020
INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 , a devastating ongoing global pandemic. Its disease severity ranges from asymptomatic, mild to severe disease, which can be complicated by developing hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome . Pulmonary fibrosis is condition that occurs due to scarring of lung tissue. Most common cause being idiopathic occurring over a long period of time but it can also occur several days after severe bacterial pneumonias due to activation of fibroblasts. Our case shows that Covid-19 infection can acutely cause pulmonary fibrosis.
Covid-19 pneumonia with diffuse bilateral infiltrates can rapidly progress into pulmonary fibrosis due to severe inflammatory response/cytokine storm , which made our patient oxygen dependent with significant reduction in her quality of life.
Reference #1: Belloli EA, Beckford R, Hadley R, Flaherty KR. Idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia. Respirology. 2016 FEb.21: 259-68
Reference #2: Zhu N Zhang D Wang W et al.A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019.N Engl J Med. 2020 382: 727-733
DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Moses Bachan, source=Web Response
No relevant relationships by Zinobia Khan, source=Web Response
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What Does Covid Do To Lungs
COVID-19 can cause lung complications such as pneumonia and, in the most severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. , another possible complication of COVID-19, can also cause lasting harm to the lungs and other organs.
As we have learned more about SARS-CoV-2 and resulting COVID-19, we have discovered that in severe COVID-19, a significant pro-inflammatory condition can result in several critical diseases, complications and syndromes, Galiatsatos says.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Causes And Risk Factors
Some people get pulmonary fibrosis when theyre exposed to something like pollution, certain medicines, or an infection. But doctors dont know what causes IPF. Thats what idiopathic means.
Some risk factors might make you more likely to get IPF:
- Age. Almost everyone diagnosed with IPF is over 50.
- Breathing in wood or metal dust at work or home
- Gender. About 75% of people diagnosed with IPF are men.
- Genetics. Up to 20% of people who have IPF have a family member with a similar lung disease.
- Having acid reflux disease
- Smoking cigarettes
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Conclusions And Future Directions
It is widely recognised that pneumonia in young children causes a considerable worldwide burden of mortality and short-term morbidity in survivors. What is less well known is that infectious insults to the rapidly growing and still developing lungs in the first 13 years of life are independently associated with an increased risk of impaired lung function in adulthood. The risks appear greatest for those whose illness is of sufficient severity to warrant treatment in hospital. The long-term effects associated with early childhood pneumonia include restrictive or obstructive lung function deficits and an increased risk of adult asthma, non-smoking related COPD, and bronchiectasis. The studies underpinning these observations do however have important limitations. They are a mixture of prospective and retrospective studies, involving both community- and hospital-based populations experiencing illness of varying severity, with incomplete follow-up and opportunities for sampling and recall bias, and diagnostic misclassification of bronchitis, bronchiolitis, viral-induced wheezing and asthma as pneumonia. Most important of all is that most studies do not have prior lung function data for their pneumonia cases and subsequent impairments in lung function might simply reflect pre-existing abnormalities in already susceptible infants and young children.
Lung Inflammation And Scarring
In severe cases, the lungs may become scarred. The scarring causes stiffness in the lungs, which can make it difficult to breathe and get oxygen to the bloodstream, resulting in long-term breathlessness and difficulty managing daily tasks.
This inflammation and scarring of the lungs is called interstitial lung disease.
Now, this study, called the UK Interstitial Lung Disease Long-COVID19 study, will investigate:
- whether post-COVID-19 lung damage will improve or worsen over time
- how long it will last
- the best strategies for developing treatments.
Early evidence indicates that lung damage occurs in approximately 20% of patients discharged from hospital, but the effects on people who experience Long-COVID in the community are currently unclear.
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Early Lung Growth And Development
Respiratory infections with consequent inflammatory responses may interrupt the critical alveolarisation phase of lung development, restricting alveolar numbers and/or size and leading to often mild, but impaired lung growth. The association between pneumonia and obstructive lung disease is possibly through similar mechanisms to those leading to bronchiectasis, which is an obstructive lung disease. Lung infections at the peak periods of somatic lung growth may also alter the programming of lung development at a local or systemic level. The effects of early infection, especially viral lower respiratory tract infections, upon lung growth, programming and future lung function disease types are beyond the scope of this review and readers are referred to the respiratory literature .
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Diagnosis Of Lung Scarring From Pneumonia
Depending on the symptoms youre experiencing and your medical history, your doctor may order a physical exam and ask questions about your symptoms and past exposure to dust, gases, and chemicals to arrive at a diagnosis. Your doctor will use a stethoscope to listen closely to your lungs while you breathe during the physical exam. In addition, they may recommend one or more of these tests to check the lung scarring from pneumonia.
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What Happens If Pneumonia Is Left Untreated
Untreated pneumonia can also result in a lung abscess, which causes part of the lung tissue to die. In extreme circumstances, respiratory failure may ensue. With quick identification and treatment, these problems can be lessened or prevented entirely. To diagnose pneumonia, your doctor will use a variety of methods. They might start with a physical examination, followed by certain lab tests or imaging studies. A sample of blood may be sent to a laboratory for analysis of its white cell count and differentials. The doctor may also order x-rays or other scans of the chest to look for evidence of infection or other problems.
Pneumonia is usually caused by viruses or bacteria. Viruses that can cause pneumonia include the rhinoviruses, coronavirus, and adenovirus. Bacteria that can cause pneumonia include Streptococcus pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
The most common symptom of pneumonia is cough. Coughing helps clear mucus from the lungs and moves infectious particles so that your body’s immune system can fight them off. If you have trouble breathing, call your doctor right away. Otherwise, you may not feel any pain when you have pneumonia. But it can be serious if you don’t seek medical attention promptly.
Pneumonia can be treated with antibiotics. Avoid taking antibiotics if you aren’t sure they’re needed.
What Are The Effects Of Pneumonia On The Lungs
The effects of pneumonia on the lungs involve overproduction of mucus and other fluids, leading to difficulty breathing and inhibiting gas exchange in the lungs, making it harder to supply the body with oxygen. In the long term, pneumonia can be associated with permanent lung damage, putting people at risk of respiratory failure in the future because their lungs are no longer as strong and healthy as they once were. Treating pneumonia early can help limit permanent lung problems.
In patients with pneumonia, an infection becomes active in the lungs. Fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other organisms can all potentially colonize the lungs if someoneâs immune system is unable to fight them off. The infection causes the small air sacs in the lungs, known as alveoli, to fill with fluid. It becomes harder to inflate the lungs because the pressure inside the lung is disrupted, people have difficulty breathing, and the oxygen with each breath doesnât reach as far as it should.
You might want to ask:
- How do you know I have IPF?
- Do I need more tests?
- Do I need to see any other doctors?
- What treatments might work best for me?
- How will they make me feel?
- Will anything help me breathe better right away?
- Are there any clinical trials that would be good for me?
- How often should I see you?
- Will I need a lung transplant?
- Will my children get IPF?
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Treatment Plan For Lung Scarring
Removing a scar directly isnt an option. Instead, your doctor will assess the scarring and determine whether any further steps are needed.
Your doctor will use X-ray images to assess the size and stability of the scarring. Theyll also check to see if the scar is expanding. To do this, theyll compare an older chest X-ray with a new one to see if the areas of scarring have grown. In many cases, you doctor may opt to use a CT scan in addition to X-rays.
If the scar is localized, meaning its only in one area, or has remained the same size over time, its typically harmless. Scars of this nature are generally caused by a previous infection. If the infection that caused this scar has been dealt with, further treatment isnt necessary.
If the scar is growing or is more widespread, this may indicate consistent exposure to things that can cause lung scarring like toxins or medications. Certain medical conditions can cause scarring, too. This can lead to a problem known as interstitial lung disease . ILD refers to a set of diseases that decrease the elasticity of the lungs.
Your doctor may also recommend additional testing, such as a lung biopsy, to gather more information or confirm the diagnosis of a disease. In these cases, your doctor will develop a treatment plan to manage the underlying condition and prevent further scarring.
- fingers or toes that widen and become round at the tip
- aching muscles and joints
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