Pneumocystosis: Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention In Children And Adults

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Pneumocystosis: Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention In Children And Adults
Pneumocystosis: Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention In Children And Adults

Video: Pneumocystosis: Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention In Children And Adults

Video: Pneumocystosis: Symptoms, Treatment And Prevention In Children And Adults
Video: Pneumocystis in Non HIV Patients 2024, March
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Pneumocystosis in children and adults, or, as it is also called Pneumocystis pneumonia, is a disease that affects the respiratory system, bronchi and lungs, provoked by the protozoa Pneumocystis Carini.

Content

  • 1 Complications
  • 2 Causes of the disease
  • 3 Symptoms of pathology
  • 4 Diagnosis of pathology
  • 5 Treatment
  • 6 Preventive measures

Sources of infection in this case can act as the infected person himself, but most often these are animals, dogs and cats, as well as small rodents. What is pneumocystosis - this disease belongs to the group of infectious diseases transmitted by airborne droplets, and accordingly, it is this feature that should be taken into account in the process of considering the question of the ways of infection, diagnosis and treatment.

Complications

As medical statistics show, pneumocystosis can give the body quite serious complications. First of all, this is a lesion of the lungs, when, as a result of the development of a pneumocyst, they rupture, and with a long course of pathology, without the necessary treatment, pulmonary infiltrates are affected by necrosis, the alveoli and walls between them burst, showing themselves in the picture with cavities and cavities, intestinal perforation and internal bleeding.

In a child, lung pathology threatens not only with severe pneumonia and pneumonia, but also with the development of the so-called shock lung with irreversible changes, expressing themselves in pulmonary heart failure, intestinal damage, forming intestinal adhesions. All this can affect other internal organs and systems, provoking a fatal outcome in the absence of treatment or an incorrectly selected course.

Causes of the disease

The source of the disease, as noted above, is not only animals, as carriers of infection, but also an infected person, spreading pathogenic microorganisms when coughing. As a result, it gets into internal organs, infection of the lungs and intestines, penetration into the blood and spread throughout the body. Also, doctors note that infection of the fetus is possible during the period of its intrauterine development and growth.

Doctors identify the following risk groups:

  1. HIV - infected individuals, as well as patients with developing systemic pathologies of connective tissue, lesions of the blood composition.
  2. Patients diagnosed with oncology and individuals who have previously undergone internal organ transplantation.
  3. Patients undergoing immunosuppressive therapy or radiation.
  4. Smokers, with weakened bronchi, chronic lung damage and elderly people with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus.
  5. Everyone who, by virtue of their work and everyday life, comes into contact with dangerous, harmful compounds and substances.
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As medical statistics show, most often lung damage, up to damage to the intestines and the cardiovascular system, is diagnosed due to the negative influence of pathogenic microflora in children at a very early age. Such statistics are due to the birth of a premature baby and defects in its development, the presence of concomitant infections in the body.

Symptoms of pathology

Symptoms of pneumocystosis in children and adults are marked by their characteristic signs and can manifest themselves in different ways, depending on the patient's immunity status.

So pneumocystosis symptoms in children have the following:

  • rough in character, barking type of cough, reminiscent of the unproductive coughing fits of whooping cough.
  • asthma attacks, most often at night, intensified by characteristic coughing fits.
  • when coughing, a small amount of sputum, grayish in color, foaming may be released - this indicates an infectious lesion of the lungs.
  • diarrhea, when the feces have a liquid consistency, brownish in color - this is most often characteristic if there is a defeat of the pathogenic intestinal microflora.

The course of the disease in young children is also marked by poor appetite of the child, sudden weight loss, increased body temperature and pale skin. If untreated, pulmonary edema and death are diagnosed, and laboratory tests will show an increase in leukocytes and ESR.

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Diagnosis of pneumocystosis in an adult is carried out on the basis of symptoms such as an increase in body temperature and general intoxication of the body with products of the vital activity of bacteria, pain in the sternum and hacking coughing fits, upset bowel movements. Less often, the defeat of the body by bacteria manifests itself in such characteristic symptoms as cyanosis, sharp bouts of shortness of breath.

In patients diagnosed with HIV, the disease will develop gradually, the body temperature will rise to 38 degrees, an attack of dry cough of a smoker, and the development of pulmonary failure manifest themselves. In the absence of treatment, other organs and systems are also damaged - liver and kidneys, skin and central nervous system, heart, gradually turning into its chronic form.

Diagnosis of pathology

Before starting treatment for pneumocystosis, doctors carry out a complete and comprehensive diagnosis. First of all, the doctor interviews the patient, finds out all the predisposing factors in the onset of the disease, the presence of HIV or other problems with the immune system.

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But the main diagnostic methods are laboratory tests or instrumental examination:

  1. First of all, this is a blood test. In this case, the blood is examined to determine the level of leukocytes, as well as lymphocytes and monocytes, as well as a decrease in the level of hemoglobin and ESR.
  2. Instrumental examinations are radiography. The images obtained will show an increase in the pulmonary pattern, the appearance of focal darkening, a vascular pattern, shown by such flakes or a veil.
  3. Carrying out a parasitological type of research - they help to identify pneumocysts in the lesions themselves. In this case, doctors take a sampling of mucus from the bronchi and lungs using a bronchoscopy or biopsy.
  4. Serological laboratory tests to detect antibodies to pneumocysts in the blood, for example, ELISA or NRIF. In this case, doctors use paired types of sera, which are taken with an interval of 10-12 days - with an increase in the titer in the biomaterial by 2-3 times it serves as a direct confirmation of the preliminary diagnosis.
  5. PCR - diagnostics - this method is used by doctors to determine the level of pneumocyst antigens in the sputum, as well as the material taken with the help of a biopsy - this is pulmonary mucus, bronchial content.

Treatment

Complex treatment of pneumocystis is prescribed and provides for a number of medical measures.

First of all, this is the organization of the correct regimen of the patient - this is the hospitalization of the patient, especially with a pronounced clinical picture of the course of the pathology. Also, a special diet is prescribed, taking into account the general condition of the patient, a course of drug therapy and physiotherapy procedures aimed at accelerating recovery.

Carrying out a course of drug therapy is an etiotropic treatment, when drugs affect the causative agent of the disease itself, as well as pathogenetic and symptomatic, which makes it possible to alleviate the patient's condition itself, accelerating his recovery. At this stage, doctors prescribe the following medications:

  • the etiotropic course of treatment involves the introduction of intramuscular pentamidine - once a day for 10-12 days, or such medicinal formulations as Furazolidone or Trichopolum, Biseptol, depending on the stage of the disease, the degree of damage to the body.
  • if the treatment of Pneumocystis pneumonia is carried out in relation to HIV - infected - they are prescribed an antiretroviral course of therapy, since their disease develops with a significant suppression of the protective forces of the immune system.
  • a course of symptomatic, as well as pathogenetic, treatment involves the use of anti-inflammatory compounds, mucolytics, as well as drugs that enhance and facilitate the passage of sputum, the entire process of expectoration.

Preventive measures

In order to avoid infection, first of all, doctors talk about drug prevention of patients at risk - such a set of measures can be either primary, before the actual onset of infection, as well as secondary, aimed at preventing relapse. If prevention concerns HIV-infected, then they are prescribed chemoprophylaxis, which is prescribed when diagnosing a decrease in T-helpers to 300 cells / ml. In this case, Biseptol is prescribed.

In the latter case, treatment with a 5% chloramine solution is carried out, intensive ventilation is carried out - those measures are taken that will help break the process of transmission of infection characteristic of a group of droplet infections.

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