Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia (Nosocomial Pneumonia)

What is healthcare-associated pneumonia? Healthcare-associated pneumonia (nosocomial pneumonia) is pneumonia that you get when you are in a hospital or nursing home. Experts generally consider it a more serious illness than pneumonia that people get in daily life (community-associated pneumonia). This is because the…

Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia (Nosocomial Pneumonia)

Topic Overview

What is healthcare-associated pneumonia?

Healthcare-associated pneumonia (nosocomial pneumonia) is pneumonia that you get when you are in a hospital or nursing home. Experts generally consider it a more serious illness than pneumonia that people get in daily life (community-associated pneumonia). This is because the person with healthcare-associated pneumonia may already have a serious illness. Healthcare-associated pneumonia is also often caused by bacteria that are more resistant to antibiotics. So healthcare-associated pneumonia may be harder to treat.

You are more likely to get healthcare-associated pneumonia if you:

What are the symptoms and how is it diagnosed?

Symptoms of healthcare-associated pneumonia include:

  • Cough that produces mucus (also called sputum) from the lungs. Mucus may be rusty or green or tinged with blood.
  • Fever, chills, and sweating, which may be less common in older adults.
  • Fast, often shallow, breathing and the feeling of being short of breath.
  • Chest wall pain that is often made worse by coughing or breathing in.
  • Fast heartbeat.
  • Feeling very tired or weak.

It is important to diagnose the condition quickly. If your doctor thinks you have healthcare-associated pneumonia, you will have a chest X-ray. And your doctor will examine a sample of your mucus and blood.

How is healthcare-associated pneumonia treated?

Doctors use antibiotics to treat healthcare-associated pneumonia. Your doctor will probably give you an antibiotic that kills many different bacteria (wide-spectrum) immediately. If he or she can identify the type of bacteria causing the infection, your antibiotic may be changed to target it.

Related Information

Credits

Current as ofJune 9, 2019

Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD – Internal Medicine
Adam Husney, MD – Family Medicine
R. Steven Tharratt, MD, FACP, FCCP – Pulmonology, Critical Care Medicine

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