Pneumonia, atypical pneumonia
1. Big picture
Pneumonia is an acute infection of the lung parenchyma causing inflammation and filling of alveoli with exudate. Clinically, think:
Fever + cough + dyspnea/pleuritic pain + focal chest signs + new infiltrate on chest imaging.
The exam wants you to separate:
| Type | Pattern |
|---|---|
| Typical bacterial pneumonia | Acute, toxic patient, high fever, productive sputum, focal lobar consolidation |
| Atypical pneumonia | Subacute, dry cough, headache/myalgia, extrapulmonary symptoms, interstitial/diffuse infiltrates |
| Severe pneumonia | Hypoxemia, sepsis, shock, confusion, multilobar disease, ICU risk |
Modern adult community-acquired pneumonia, CAP, management is based on severity, comorbidity, likely pathogen, and local resistance patterns. The ATS/IDSA CAP guideline emphasizes clinical diagnosis plus imaging, severity assessment, and empiric antibiotics adapted to outpatient, inpatient, and severe CAP categories. ([PMC][1])
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