Pneumonia

Definition

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 lung (alveoli).

Description

Pneumonia can develop gradually in children after exposure to the causative organism, or it can develop quickly after another illness, reducing the lungs' ability to receive and distribute oxygen. It can be mild and easily cured with antibiotics and rest, or it can be severe and require hospitalization. The onset, duration, and severity of pneumonia depend upon the type of infective organism invading the body and the response of the child's immune system in fighting the infection. Respiratory distress represents 20 percent of all admissions of children to hospitals, and pneumonia is the underlying cause of most of these admissions.

To understand pneumonia, it is important to understand the basic anatomic features of the respiratory system. The human respiratory system begins at the nose and mouth, where air is breathed in (inspired) and out (expired). The nasopharynx is the air tube extending from the nose that directs air into the lungs. Air breathed in through the mouth travels through the oropharynx, which also carries swallowed food, water, and salivary secretions through the food tube (esophagus) and then into the stomach. The nasopharynx and oropharynx merge into the larynx, which is protected by a trap door called the epiglottis. The epiglottis normally prevents substances that have been swallowed, as well as substances that have been regurgitated (vomited), from heading down through the larynx into the lungs.

The larynx flows into the trachea, which is the broadest part of the respiratory tract. The trachea divides into the right and left bronchi, each branching off into multiple smaller bronchi that course throughout the lung tissue. Each bronchus divides into tubes of smaller and smaller diameter, finally ending in the terminal bronchioles. The alveoli, in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged, are clustered at the ends of the bronchioles. Lung stroma, the tissue of the lung, serves a supportive role for the bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli.

The main function of the respiratory system is to help distribute oxygen, the most important energy source for the body's cells. Oxygen enters the body as inspired air and travels through the respiratory system to the alveoli. The oxygen is then picked up by hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells, and delivered throughout the body through the circulatory system. Oxygen in the inspired air is exchanged within the alveoli of the lungs for carbon dioxide, a waste product of human metabolism. Carbon dioxide leaves the lungs during expiration.

The healthy human lung is sterile, with no normally resident bacteria or viruses, unlike the upper respiratory system and parts of the gastrointestinal system, where bacteria dwell even in a healthy state. Multiple safeguards along the path of the respiratory system are designed to keep invading organisms from causing infection. The first line of defense includes tiny hairs in the nostrils that filter out large particles. The epiglottis helps prevent food and other swallowed substances from entering the larynx and the trachea. Sneezing and coughing, both provoked by the presence of irritants within the respiratory system, help to clear such irritants from the respiratory tract. Mucus produced through the respiratory system also serves to trap dust and infectious organisms. Tiny hair like projections (cilia) from cells lining the respiratory tract beat constantly to move debris trapped by mucus upwards and out of the respiratory tract. This mechanism of protection is referred to as the mucociliary escalator. Finally, cells lining the respiratory tract produce several types of immune substances that protect against various organisms. Other cells (macrophages) along the respiratory tract surround and kill invading organisms.

Organisms that cause pneumonia, then, are usually prevented from entering the lungs by virtue of these host defenses. However, when a large number of organisms are encountered at once or when the immune system is weakened, the usual defenses may be overwhelmed and infection may occur. This can happen either by inhaling contaminated air droplets or by the aspiration of organisms inhabiting the upper airways. Aspiration pneumonia is a type of pneumonia in which something is aspirated from the upper airway into the lungs. This can be food from the mouth, a foreign object or substance that has entered the mouth, or regurgitated stomach contents (vomitus) aspirated into the lungs as it travels to the mouth.

The invading organism causing pneumonia provokes an immune response in the lungs that causes inflammation of the lung tissue (pneumonitis), a condition that actually makes the lung environment more ideal for infection. Small blood vessels in the lungs (capillaries) begin to empty protein-rich fluid into the alveoli, a condition that results in a less functional area for oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange. The individual becomes relatively oxygen deprived, while retaining potentially damaging carbon dioxide. This results in rapid respiration (tachypnea or faster and faster breathing) in an effort to bring in more oxygen and blow off more carbon dioxide.

Consolidation, a feature of bacterial pneumonia, occurs when the alveoli, which are normally hollow air spaces within the lung, instead become solid due to quantities of fluid and debris. Viral pneumonias and mycoplasma pneumonias do not result in consolidation. These types of pneumonia primarily infect the walls of the alveoli and the stroma of the lung. Bacterial and viral pneumonia occur mostly in winter months, while mycoplasma pneumonia is more common in summer and fall.

Bacterial pneumonia develops after the child inhales or aspirates pathogens. Viral pneumonia stems primarily from inhaling infected droplets from the upper airway into the lungs. In neonates, pneumonia may result from colonization of the infant's nasopharynx by organisms that were in the birth canal at the time of delivery.

In addition to exposure to sufficient quantities of causative organisms, certain other conditions can increase the risk of pneumonia. These include the following:

• abnormal anatomical structure, particularly of the chest or lungs
• cigarette smoke, inhaled directly by a smoker or second-hand
• immune system deficiencies (common variable immunodeficiency, immunoglobulin deficiency syndromes, HIV infection, and others)
• swallowing difficulties as a result of stroke or seizures
• intoxication by alcohol and drugs that may interfere with normal cough reflex and decrease the chance of clearing unwanted debris from the respiratory tract
• viruses that may interfere with ciliary function, allowing themselves or other invading microorganisms such as bacteria access to the lower respiratory tract
• various chronic conditions such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, emphysema, and neuromuscular diseases that may interfere with the seal of the epiglottis
• advanced age and associated immune system weakness
• esophageal disorders that may result in stomach contents passing upwards
• genetic factors and associated changes in DNA
• post-operative complications including the use of certain therapeutic drugs, suppressed cough reflex, breathing difficulties, and pain at the surgical site that affects breathing
• malnutrition
• radiation treatment for breast cancer, which may weaken lung tissue

The epidemic of immmunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), has resulted in a huge increase in the incidence of pneumonia. Because AIDS results in immune system suppression, individuals with AIDS are highly susceptible to all kinds of pneumonia, including some previously rare parasitic types that would not cause illness in someone with a normal immune system.

Pneumonia is also the most common fatal infection acquired by already hospitalized patients. Even in nonfatal cases, pneumonia is a significant economic burden on the healthcare system. One study estimates that U.S. workers who develop pneumonia cost employers five times as much in health care as the average worker.

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Author Info: L. Lee Culvert, Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt MD, Rebecca J. Frey PhD, Thomson Gale, Gale, Detroit, Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health, 2006

This feature is for informational purposes only and should not be used to replace the care and information received from your healthcare provider. Please consult a healthcare professional with any health concerns you may have.