Nursing Home–Acquired Pneumonia

Excerpt

Pneumonia is an infection of the lower respiratory tract, involving the pulmonary parenchyma. Viruses, fungi, and bacteria can cause pneumonia. Pneumonia ranges in severity from mild and uncomplicated as often is the case with atypical infections, to fulminant and life-threatening, occurring more frequency in hospital-acquired pneumonia. This article will focus on pneumonia caused by a specific subset of virulent organisms frequently implicated in nursing home residents. Increasingly virulent organisms coupled with a patient population that has numerous comorbidities, precipitates increased morbidity and mortality.