12th January 2024

Presentation

Pneumonia typically presents with a relatively short history of symptoms over hours to days. Common symptoms include:

• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Productive cough
• Pleuritic chest pain
• Malaise

Risk factors for pneumonia are smoking, immunosuppression, impaired swallowing, and concurrent lung conditions such as bronchiectasis.

Atypical pneumonias typically present with a slightly longer history of flu-like symptoms, including headache, diarrhoea, and malaise. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is commonly associated with dermatological manifestations, such as erythema multiforme or Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Legionella can colonise building water systems and classically occurs in outbreaks in hotels.

Signs on examination can include:

• Pyrexia
• Tachycardia
• Tachypnoea
• Hypoxia
• Reduced chest expansion on the affected side
• Dull percussion note over the area of consolidation
• Coarse crackles and bronchial breathing on auscultation over the area of consolidation
• Increased vocal resonance over the area of consolidation