DIAGNOSIS of PNEUMONIA

Introduction
Out of every one thousand Americans, fifteen contract pneumonia each year. Before the discovery of antibiotics one out of every five people that contracted the disease died. In World War I seventeen percent of the men in our Army who had pneumonia died from it. But thanks to new treatments the numbers of deaths are down more then two thirds.
Pneumonia is generally a bacterial disease which causes fluid to accumulate in the lungs leading to inflammation. Its most common cause is the bacteria pneumococcus. The symptoms are different and specific to the particular type of pneumonia a person has. Some pneumonias have the severity of the common cold, yet others are much more serious. Pneumonia can cause respiration to rise to thirty to forty breaths per minute (nearly twice or more then the normal rate).
Even though there are already ways of diagnosing pneumonia, new technology for the diagnosis of pneumonia should be used so it can be treated sooner and more efficiently. Because of a rise of strains of common disease causing bacterium that are resistant to antibiotics has risen significantly in recent years, the ability to diagnose pneumonia sooner may give doctors more time to find a cure for it. New tecnology has been invented such as an electronic nose and blood tests using erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein determination which can help doctors to diagnose pneumonia sooner and more effectively.

Encyclopedias
• Fishein, M.D., Morris. "Pneumonia." The Popular Medical Encyclopedia . pages 358-360, R616F
This encyclopedia outlines everything from the cause to the treatment and care of patients with pneumonia. It also gives a graphic description of the disease’s symptoms and the development of the infection.

Books
• Bunch, Bryan, Barbara Branca, and Barbara A. Darga. Diseases Mumps-Polyps. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1997. pages 97-100, 616.003 DIS v.6
This book covers everything a person could want to know about bacterial pneumonia, including the cause, incidence and symptoms. You’ll notice, symptoms your doctor will notice, treatment options, stages and progress and finally prevention. It is very convenient because everything about the previously mentioned subjects are under subjective titles. The best part of this book is it tells what symptoms you can notice and what symptoms a doctor will look for in order to make a diagnosis.

• Gossel, R.Ph.,Ph.D., Thomas A., and Donald W. Stansloski, R.Ph., Ph.D. The
Complete Medicine Book. Skokie, Illinois: Publications International Ltd.,
1982. page 97, 615G
This book is a very useful book when looking for information on the symptoms of pneumonia because it gives very precise numerical measurements. For example, it tells you that the pulse rate of a patient with pneumonia may be as high as 125 beats per minute. These descriptions of symptoms give the reader a feel for what a doctor may be looking for when diagnosing a patient.

Magazines Articles
• "Medicine and Health: Rise in Drug- Resistant Bacteria Seen." Facts On File
World News Digest 14 Sept. 1995. 26 Dec. 2005
<http://www.2facts.com/>.
This article establishes the fact that some common-disease causing bacteria are in fact becoming resistant to antibiotics. The reader must consider when reading this article that if a doctor can diagnose pneumonia sooner they can find out if the particular bacteria is antibiotic resistant before it’s too late.
• Walling, M.D., Anne D. "Improving the Accuracy of Pneumonia Diagnosis." American Academy of Family Physicians 1 Feb. 2004. eLibrary Academic/Public Library. ProQuest Information and Learning. 26 Dec. 2005<http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/>.
This magazine article tells of a test done by physicians in which they used blood samples and radiographs to find new ways of diagnosing pneumonia. These tests can help distinguish between pneumonia and other lower respiratory diseases.

• Whitney, Cynthia G. "13#vety=3;enum=0;Streptococcus pneumonia remains the most common cause of community-aquired pneumonia and bacterial..." Geriatrics 1 Oct. 2003. eLibrary Academic/Public Library. ProQuest Information and Learning. 26 Dec. 2005 <http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/>.
This magazine article discusses streptococcus pneumoniae, one of many causes of pneumonia, and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation for a vaccine against it. This vaccine is very important for adults because the risk of contracting and dieing of pneumococcal infection increases with age.

Internet Sources

• Baltimore, Robert S. "The Difficulty of Diagnosing Ventilator-Associated
Pneumonia." EBSCOhost . Dec. 2003. Pediatrics. 26 Dec. 2005
<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&an=11639981>.
This site is a prime example of why new ways of diagnosing pneumonia are necessary. It tells of how diagnosing patients who are intubated and or ventilated. It shows just how complicated the diagnosis can be under different conditions.

• Hwang, Mi Young. "Diagnosing and treating pneumonia." JAMA PATIENT PAGE. 9 Feb. 2000. The Journal of the American Medical Association. 26 Dec. 2005 <http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/283/6/832.pdf>.
This website article stresses the seriousness of pneumonia and outlines the transmission, treatment, and prevention of the disease in a very simple and easy to understand way.

• Peck, Peggy. "This 'Nose' Knows Pneumonia, Doctors Say." SIRS Knowledge Source. 5 Nov. 2002. UPI Science News. 26 Dec. 2005<http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-pisplay?id=SPL8013-0-4247&artno=0000161851&t...>.
This extremely interesting web article tells of an innovative new way of diagnosing pneumonia, an electronic nose that actually takes airway samples and identifies bacteria. This ‘nose’ is accurate, fast, and inexpensive. Inventions like this show just how innovative the diagnosing of pneumonia has become.