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The most common mechanism by which the lung is inoculated with pathogenic organisms is through microaspiration of oropharyngeal contents, a process that occurs in otherwise healthy individuals during sleep ( Chapter 82 ). Colonization of the oral pharynx with pathogenic organisms, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae ( Chapter 303 ), can thereby lead to delivery of sufficient quantities of organisms to infect the lung.
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lung, and can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections. These include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In the United States, pneumonia is the sixth most common disease leadi...
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Pneumonia is a respiratory condition in which there is inflammation of the lung. Community-acquired pneumonia refers to pneumonia in people who have not recently been in the hospital or another health care facility (nursing home, rehabilitation fa...
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Introduction Pneumonia has been recognized as a disease entity since remote times, with definitions of the condition traceable in ancient Greek, Roman, and Arabic writings. Definitive recognition of the etiologic role of microorganisms in pneumonia, and the identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae as the most common causative agent was only achieved roughly 120 years ago.
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The actual incidence of pneumonia in ambulatory patients is difficult to estimate because the etiologic agent is rarely identified except in clinical trials, and CAP is not currently considered a reportable disease. Each year in the United States there are 2 to 3 million cases of CAP.
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The following Clinical Topic Tour provides an overview of pneumococcal pneumonia and was adapted by materials published by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the CDC.
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Pneumocystis pneumonia is a lung infection that occurs primarily in people with weakened immune systems—especially people who are HIV-positive. The disease agent is an organism whose biological classification is still uncertain. Pneumocystis carin...
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Pneumonia is a serious infection of the lung that impairs breathing. Small air sacs in the lung (alveoli) become filled with pus, mucus or other fluid, and cannot supply oxygen to circulating blood . Lobar pneumonia affects one section, or lobe, o...
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Pneumococcal pneumonia is a common but serious infection and inflammation of the lungs. It is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae .
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Eosinophilic pneumonia is a group of diseases in which there is an above normal number of eosinophils in the lungs and blood.
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Chlamydial pneumonia refers to one of several types of pneumonia that can be caused by various types of the bacteria known as Chlamydia .
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. It results in an inflammatory response within the small air spaces of the...
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One of the most common pulmonary complications affecting cancer patients, pneumonia is a potentially life-threatening inflammation of one or both lungs.
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Pneumonia is an infection of the lung that can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections . These include bacteria, amoebae, viruses, fungi, and parasites. In the United States, pneumonia is the sixth most common dis...
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal contagious disease that can affect almost any part of the body but is mainly an infection of the lungs. It is caused by a bacterial microorganism, the tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Altho...
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal contagious disease that can affect almost any part of the body but is mainly an infection of the lungs . It is caused by a bacterial microorganism: the tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis . Alth...
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious and potentially fatal disease that can affect almost any part of the body but manifests mainly as an infection of the lungs. It is caused by a bacterial microorganism, the tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberc...
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Tuberculosis is a chronic, infectious disease that primarily attacks the lungs.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus is a multisystem, autoimmune, connective-tissue disorder with a broad range of clinical presentations. There is a peak age of onset in young women between their late teens and early 40s and women to men ratio of 9:1.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called lupus or SLE) is a disease where a person's immune system attacks and injures the body's own organs and tissues. Almost every system of the body can be affected by SLE.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder. It may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, and other organs.
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The following Clinical Topic Tour provides an overview of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and was adapted from materials published by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease with protean clinical manifestations that may affect any organs or system. shows the 1997 revised American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for the classification of SLE. The disease is characterized by flares, remissions and autoantibodies directed against several intracellular and cell-surface antigens.
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Because most therapeutic interventions in patients with SLE are associated with significant undesirable side effects, the physician must first decide whether a patient needs treatment and, if so, whether conservative management is sufficient or aggressive immunosuppression is necessary. Figure 76-1 presents an algorithm for this decision making.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (also called lupus or SLE) is a disease in which a person's immune system attacks and injures the body's own organs and tissues. Almost every system of the body can be affected.
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Asbestosis is chronic, progressive inflammation of the lung. It is not contagious.
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Asbestosis is a respiratory disease brought on by inhaling asbestos fibers.
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Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the chest, the abdomen, or other tissues. It has become increasingly more frequent since 1900, however, paralleling the use of asbestos. Exposure to asbestos is the most common cause of this disease, ...
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Malignant mesothelioma is an uncommon cancerous tumor of the lining of the lung and chest cavity (pleura) or lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) that is typically due to long-term asbestos exposure.
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Pulmonary embolism is an obstruction of a blood vessel in the lungs, usually due to a blood clot, which blocks a coronary artery.
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A pulmonary embolus is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by fat, air, a blood clot, or tumor cells.
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An embolism is an obstruction in a blood vessel due to a blood clot or other foreign matter that gets stuck while traveling through the bloodstream. The plural of embolism is emboli.
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