- QUESTION
Differentiate between the presenting signs of symptoms of a 55-year-old suffering from acute bronchitis and a 55-year-old suffering from pneumonia. In your response, discuss the most typical community-acquired pathogens involved with each of these illnesses. Include some comments related to potential cultural influences on managing the illnesses. Provide evidence for your response as a reference.
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| Subject | Nursing | Pages | 3 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Differences between Signs of Pneumonia and Acute Bronchitis
Pneumonia and acute bronchitis share many symptoms and elderly people with acute bronchitis are at risk of contracting pneumonia. In elder adults, acute bronchitis goes away within a few weeks while pneumonia can be a serious problem for them. Pneumonia is caused by bacteria or viruses while acute bronchitis is a viral disease (Severson, Renstrom, Fitzhugh, 2014). Despite the many similarities of the signs and symptoms of the two diseases, there are a number of variations of both conditions that can be used to confirm whether it is pneumonia or acute bronchitis that an elderly adult is suffering from.
The two conditions always involve a cough where a dry cough that does not produce mucus at first but may bring up mucus after a few days in acute bronchitis. The mucus can be clear, yellow, or green and may be tinged with blood. On the other hand, in pneumonia the cough often brings up mucus from the lungs. The mucus can be rusty or green and tinged with blood. In acute bronchitis, the fever is absent or it can be present but mild. Fever in pneumonia is often higher than 101°F (38.5°C). These are the most basic signs and symptoms that are likely to be shared by both conditions. However, there are other differentiating factors that can be used to single out the conditions. In acute bronchitis, the X-rays appear to be normal and it usually lasts for 2 to 3 weeks after which it goes away. In pneumonia, the X-ray does not appear normal and it may last for more than 2 to 3 weeks. In addition, pneumonia patients have a heart rate that is faster than 100 beats a minute and the patient is likely to experience shaking and teeth chattering chills, breathing faster than 24 breaths a minute (Steinman, Sauaia, Maselli, Houck, & Gonzalez, 2004).
Some of the cultural factors that are likely to affect treatment include behavioral expectations that discourage coughing because coughing is known to clear the bronchi of mucus. Those people who are not in to the habit of taking lots of fluid and washing hands are also likely to derail treatment. In the U.S, for instance, it is seen as bad manners to cough continuously when in a populated place.
References
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Severson, C., Renstrom, C., & Fitzhugh, M. (2014). Health promotion, risk stratification, and treatment options to decrease hospitalization rates for community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Journal Of The American Association Of Nurse Practitioners, 26(10), 537-549. doi:10.1002/2327-6924.12072 Steinman, M. A., Sauaia, A., Maselli, J. H., Houck, P. M., & Gonzalez, R. (2004). Office Evaluation and Treatment of Elderly Patients with Acute Bronchitis. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society, 52(6), 875-879. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52252.x
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