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Sample essay topic, essay writing: The Differences And Similarities Of Pneumonia And Tuberculosis - 1149 words

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The Differences and Similarities of Pneumonia and Tuberculosis Pneumonia and tuberculosis have been plaguing the citizens of the worldfor centuries causing millions of deaths. This occurred until the creation anduse of antibiotics become more widely available. These two respiratoryinfections have many differences, which include their etiology, incidence andprevalence, and many similarities in their objective and subject indicators,medical interventions, course, rehabilitation and effects. To explore the relationship between pneumonia and tuberculosis we willexamine a case study. Joan is a 35 year old women who was feeling fine up tilla few weeks ago when she develop a sore throat.

Since her sore throat she hadbeen experiencing chest pain, a loss of appetite, coughing and a low fever soshe went to visit her doctor. Her doctor admitted her to the hospital withbacterial pneumonia and after three days of unsuccessful treatment it wasdiscovered that she actually had active tuberculosis. This misdiagnosis showsthe similarities between the two diseases and how easily they can be confused.PneumoniaPneumonia is a serious infection or inflammation of the lungs withexudation and consolidation. Pneumonia can be one of two types: lobar pneumoniaor bronchial pneumonia. Lobar pneumonia affects one lobe of a lung whilebronchial pneumonia affects the areas closest to the bronchi (O'Toole, 1992).In the United States over three million people are infected with pneumonia eachyear; five percent of which die.Etiology There are over 30 causes for pneumonia however there are 4 main causeswhich are bacterial, viral, mycoplasma and fungal (American Lung Association,1996)

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Bacterial pneumonia attacks everyone from young to old, however'alcoholics, the debilitated, post-operative patients, people with respiratorydisease or viral infections and people who have weakened immune systems are atgreater risk' (American Lung Association, 1996). The Pneumococcusis bacteria,which is classified as Streptococcus pneumoniae, causes bacterial pneumonia andcan be prevented by a vaccine. In 20 - 30% of the cases the infection spreadsto the blood stream (MedicineNet, 1997) which can lead to secondary infections. Viral pneumonia accounts for half of all pneumonia cases (American LungAssociation, 1996) unfortunately there is no effective treatment becauseantibiotics do not affect viruses. Many viral pneumonia cases are a result ofan influenza infection and commonly affect children, however they are notusually serious and last only a short time (American Lung Association, 1996).The 'virus invades the lungs and multiplies, but there are almost no physicalsigns of lung tissue becoming filled with fluid.

It finds many of its victimsamong those who have pre-existing heart or lung disease or are pregnant'(American Lung Association, 1996). In the more severe cases it can becomplicated with the invasion of bacteria that may result in symptoms ofbacterial pneumonia (American Lung Association, 1996). During World War II mycoplasma were identified as the 'smallest free-living agents of disease in humankind, unclassified as to whether bacteria orviruses, but having characteristics of both' (American Lung Association, 1996).Mycoplasma pneumonia is 'often a slowly developing infection' (MedicineNet,1997) that often affects older children and young adults (American LungAssociation, 1996). The other main cause of pneumonia is fungal pneumonia. This is causedby a fungus that causes pneumocystic carinii pneumonia (PCP) and is often 'thefirst sign of illness in many persons with AIDS and ..

can be successfullytreated in many cases' (American Lung Association, 1996).In Joan's case bacterial pneumonia was suspected because her immunesystem was weakened by her sore throat and her signs and symptoms correlatedwith pneumonia.Tuberculosis (TB) Tuberculosis was discovered 100 years ago but still kills three millionpeople annually (Schlossberg, 1994, p.1). Cases range from race and ethnicity.In 1990 the non-Hispanic Blacks had 9, 634 cases while the American Indians andAlaskan Natives had 371 cases (Galantino and Bishop, 1994). It is caused bybacteria called either Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Tubercle bacillus.Tuberculosis can infect any part of the body but is most often found in thelungs where it causes a lung infection or pneumonia.EtiologyThere has been a resurgence of TB due to a number of factors that include:1. the HIV / AIDS epidemic, 2. the increased number of immigrants, 3. theincrease in poverty, injection drug use and homelessness, 4.

poor compliancewith treatment regiments and; 5. the increased number of residents in long termfacilities (Cook & Dresser, 1995).The tuberculosis bacteria is spread through the air however transmission willonly occur after prolonged exposure. For example you only have a 50% chance tobecome infected if you spend eight hours a day for six months with someone whohas active TB (Cook & Dresser, 1995). The tuberculosis bacteria enters the air when a TB patient coughs,sneezes or talks and is then inhaled. The infection can lie dormant in aperson's system for years causing them no problems however when their immunesystem is weakened it gives the infection a chance to break free.Types of TB Treatments Types of treatment will depend on whether the patient has inactive oractive tuberculosis.

To diagnose active TB the doctor will look at the patients'symptoms, and outcomes of the skin test, sputum tests, and chest x-rays. Aperson has active tuberculosis when their immune system is weakened and theystart to exhibit the signs and symptoms of the disease. They also have positiveskin tests, sputum tests and chest x-rays. When this occurs the treatment ismore intense. The disease is treated with at least two different types ofantibiotics in order to cure the infection. Within a few weeks the antibioticswill build the body's resistance and slow the poisons of the TB germ to preventthe patient from being contagious. An example of treatment would be short-course chemotherapy, which is the use of isoniazid (INH), rifampin, andpyrazinamide in combination for at least six months (Cook & Dresser, 1995).

Thedrugs need to be taken for six to twelve months or there may be a reoccurrence.Failure to take the antibiotics consistently will result in a multi-drugresistant TB (MDR TB) which 'is much harder to treat because the drugs do notkill the germs. MDR TB can be spread to others, just like regular TB' (AmericanLung Association, 1996). Inactive tuberculosis is when a person is infected with the tuberculosisbacteria, but their immune system is able to fight the infection, therefore onlyshowing a positive skin test and a negative x-ray and sputum test. The patientmay be infected but they are not contagious which means the doctor will start apreventative treatment program. This program includes the use of the drugisoniazid for six to twelve months to prevent the TB from becoming active in thefuture.Once the treatment for Joan's pneumonia was unsuccessful it wasrediagnosed because she remembered her exposure to TB when her grandfathercontracted it when she was seven years old. She has been unaware that she hasbeen caring the infection in a dormant state for 28 years.

Due to her sorethroat, which weakened her immune system, her TB became active therefore she wasgiven a new treatment plan. This plan included the use of isoniazid, rifampin,and pyrazinamide.Objective and Subjective IndicatorsTuberculosis and pneumonia have similar objective and subjectiveindicators because they both cause infection of the lungs. Because of thesessimilarities in the indicators Joan's case was easily misdiagnosed without theinformation of the TB exposure. The subjective indicators are chest pain, headaches, loss of appetite,nausea, stiffness of joints or muscles, shortness of breath, tiredness andweakness. The pat ...

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