Pathology research paper: My topic is PNEUMONIA
Name
Institution
Pathology research paper: My topic is PNEUMONIA
Introduction
Pneumonia is one of the perilous diseases, which attacks an individual’s lungs. The illness is known for causing inflammation of one or both lungs, affecting the breathing system. The malady is majorly caused by bacteria, viruses, or germs spread through an individual’s breathing system (Ayan & Ünver, 2019). Usually, a patient with pneumonia has various symptoms such as a cough that sometimes produces blood, fever, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, chill or shaking, sweating, and chest pains. A chest x-ray is essential in this case since it aids doctors to trace the disease. For instance, the procedure is vital for revealing an area of lung inflammation, which is a clear indication of pneumonia presence (Jaiswal, Tiwari, Kumar, Gupta, Khanna, & Rodrigues, 2019). The chest x-rays can show areas of opacity that is usually white, which stands for consolidation. The sickness is not easily traced by an x-ray when it is in its initial phase. A chest X-ray is one of the surest solutions that help the doctors trace the disease’s presence in the lungs, heart, and blood vessels. The essay examines the major causes and effects of pneumonia, the chest x-ray, which is its primary treatment way, and the various procedures employed during the X-ray method.
Pathology
- Explaining into detail
Pneumonia is one of the dangerous diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, or germs that enters an individual’s body through breathing. The ailment is known for causing air sacs in a victim’s lungs. The lungs’ air sacs lead to the development of fluids such as pus, which makes a victim cough phlegm, fever, and develop difficulty in breathing. Like any other disease, pneumonia’s s seriousness range from mild to life-threatening. The malady is serious to young children and the elderly above 65 years old (Jaiswal, Tiwari, Kumar, Gupta, Khanna, & Rodrigues, 2019). Additionally, the condition is also life-threatening for people with added health complications or a weakened immune system. Therefore, persons exposing any symptom of the sickness should seek the attention of a doctor since pneumonia is lethal.
- Adequate Research/ Show the Knowledge of the Topic
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of pneumonia vary from mild to severe, depending on various factors such as germs causing the sickness, age, and health complications. Usually, mild characteristics and symptoms are always similar to those of flu, but they are persistent. The main symptoms of the disease include chest pain when an individual breathes, confusion or transformations in mental awareness especially for people above 65 years, cough, fever, fatigue, fever, sweating, below normal body temperatures specifically for people above 65 years old because of the weak immune system (Ayan & Ünver, 2019). Other symptoms of the disease include nausea and shortness of breathing. An individual exposing such symptoms should seek the doctor’s attention, especially those showing the shortness in breathing signs. For individuals with underlying conditions, older than 65 years, and young, the disease can be life-threatening because of their immune system’s state.
Causes
The disease’s causative agent is bacteria, which is majorly streptococcus pneumonia that affects the lobe of the lung. Equally, bacteria-like organisms such as mycoplasma pneumonia are also responsible for the sickness, but they lead to the exposure of minor symptoms of the disease. The bacteria cause walking pneumonia, which is not such severe, but it requires the best rest. The disease is also caused by fungi, mostly affecting people with underlying disease or a weak immune system. The organisms intensify the symptoms when inhaled in large doses (Jaiswal, Tiwari, Kumar, Gupta, Khanna, & Rodrigues, 2019). Viruses such as COVID 19 also causes the disease. Equally, they are the primary cause of the disease for children under the age of 5 years. Generally, viral pneumonia is always mild. Coronavirus can cause life-threatening pneumonia to the victims.
Risk Factors
Pneumonia can affect any individual, but it can be life-threatening for children under two years and the elderly above 65 years. The major reason why the disease is dangerous to that category of people is their weak immune system.
Describe the routine or trauma x-ray positions that would be performed to demonstrate your pathology
- How you positioned the patient for the exams (Upright, supine, oblique, etc.)
A patient should be positioned upright when performing the chest x-ray. Furthermore, the patient should lean slightly forward with the shoulder resting firmly against the rid. The patient’s hands should be locked behind his or her back to make the shoulders posteriorly rotate. Equally, the patient’s arms should be above the head.
Figure 1: the X-ray taking position
- The material used in Trauma X-ray
The x-ray beams are the main material used while conducting a trauma x-ray because they pass through the body to detect any problem (Mandell & Niederman, 2019). They are usually absorbed in varying amounts depending on the density of the passing material. For instance, for dense materials such as metal and bones, the beam will show up as white x-rays. Likewise, the air in the lungs will appear black. On the other hand, fat and muscle will appear as a shade of gray. The computed tomography CT is mostly used for imaging trauma victims (Mandell & Niederman, 2019). Also, mobile radiography is usually a necessity in the ED. Therefore, trauma radiographers ought to be competent in undertaking mobile radiography on different body parts. The mobile fluoroscopy units are vital because of their shapes in fracture reduction, foreign body localization, and joint dislocation reduction.
Technical Factors
The technical factors used include Mas, which is used to measure the radiation produced over a particular period through the X-ray tube. When all factors are held constant, the MAs are usually influenced by radiography density. KVp is used to determine the quantity and quality of photons produced.
Related Tests
- Tests are done to correlate the diagnosis.
The lung cancer test was performed since the patient was exhibiting difficulty in breathing symptoms, which are common among patients with lung cancer in society. The prime reason for conducting the test was to examine a patient’s lungs (Jaiswal, Tiwari, Kumar, Gupta, Khanna, & Rodrigues, 2019). The heart-related lung problem is essential in this test since the patient was coughing blood and had difficulty in breathing problems. Tuberculosis tests may also be performed because the patient exhibited difficulty in breathing problems.
- Further tests that may be needed
In this case, a CT scan is essential when a doctor notices something wrong with the X-ray. Even the CT cannot give a conclusive analysis; it is beneficial to assess the lung diseases and other maladies such as pneumonia and cancer (Ayan & Ünver, 2019). Chest MRI is vital in providing detailed information that may aid a physician in diagnosing lung-related problems. The chest ultrasound is always accompanied by other methods such as CT scanning and X-ray in evaluating and treating certain chest conditions.
Prognosis
- Follow-up care ( surgery, Physical Therapy)
In this case, physical therapy is significant because it may help prevent pneumonia connected disuse syndrome. However, surgery is not appropriate for patients with pneumonia (Ayan & Ünver, 2019). Surgery may be essential as the disease has led to other complications, such as fluid accumulation around the lungs.
Conclusion
The essay examines the major causes and effects of pneumonia, the chest x-ray, which is its primary treatment, and the various procedures employed during the X-ray method. Pneumonia is one of the dangerous diseases caused by bacteria, fungi, or germs that enters an individual’s body through breathing. The disease is known for causing air sacs in a victim’s lungs. The lungs’ air sacs lead to the development of fluids such as pus, which makes a victim cough phlegm, fever, and develop difficulty in breathing. Chest X-rays are significant in detecting the presence of the disease in the body.
References
Ayan, E., & Ünver, H. M. (2019, April). Diagnosis of Pneumonia from Chest X-Ray Images Using Deep Learning. In 2019 Scientific Meeting on Electrical-Electronics & Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science (EBBT) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
Jaiswal, A. K., Tiwari, P., Kumar, S., Gupta, D., Khanna, A., & Rodrigues, J. J. (2019). Identifying pneumonia in chest X-rays: A deep learning approach. Measurement, 145, 511-518.
Mandell, L. A., & Niederman, M. S. (2019). Aspiration pneumonia. New England Journal of Medicine, 380(7), 651-663.