Management of Community Acquired Pneumonia in a Small Setting- A Case Report

Abstract

Pneumonia is a potentially fatal infection and inflammation of the lower respiratory namely bronchioles and alveoli, usually caused by inhaled bacteria and viruses. The most common type of bacterial pneumonia in India is caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae. The other organisms responsible for Pneumonia are, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Pneumonia can occur at any age but is more common among young children and elderly in India. Fifty percent of world’s Pneumonia cases occur in India. However, it is not rare to occur among adults. Reliable estimates of disease burden are not available particularly for the adult population. Pneumonia that develops outside the hospital settings is commonly referred to as community acquired pneumonia (CAP) and that develops 48 hours after admission to the hospital is known as hospital acquired pneumonia. CAP is suspected by acute symptoms such as dyspnoea, cough with sputum and fever and presence of new focal chest signs without other obvious cause. New pulmonary infiltrate on a chest radiograph is required for a definite diagnosis. We present a case of CAP in adult male and its management in a sub-district hospital about 90 kms away from Bengaluru the capital of Karnataka State. A36-year male reported at a private hospital in a small town of Chintamani, in Kolar district of Karnataka with the complaints of cough with sputum, fever, vomiting, mild diarrhoea, for the last 3 days on 12/5/2021. Based on Chest Xray and other investigationshe was diagnosed as a case of pneumonia. His treatment consisted of multiple antibiotics that helped recover completely in 5 days.We feel that multiple antibiotics were against the Indian standard protocol of pneumonia management.