Pneumonia

Pneumonia (Credit: Canva)

Updated Jan 16, 2025 | 03:00 AM IST

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1 in 10 Pneumonia Patients Do Not Survive: Here Are the Red Flags to Watch For

SummaryFollowing the recent diagnosis of Boris Johnson's wife with pneumonia, doctors have wanted that it is due to bacterial infections, and those requiring hospitalization face a 10% risk of death

NHS doctors are warning of the deadly risks of pneumonia, particularly after Carrie Johnson’s flu infection developed into a serious lung condition. As the country grapples with pneumonia (nearly 5000 severe cases every day), statistics have revealed that one in 10 patients admitted with pneumonia does not survive.

Dr Mark Porter, who is also a TV personality, shared some crucial advice on how to spot if pneumonia develops from your illness. He pointed to a Japanese study showing that 1 in 300 flu cases leads to pneumonia. He added that most flu-related pneumonia is due to secondary bacterial infections, and those requiring hospitalization face a 10% risk of death—rising to 33% for intensive care patients. While this condition can happen to anyone, older adults and immunocompromised people are at more risk.

Red Flags To Identify Pneumonia

- New shortness of breath, particularly if noticeable at rest, should raise concerns.

- Chest pain, especially when taking a deep breath, is a red flag.

- Coughing up blood or blood-tinged phlegm is a warning sign.

- A resting heart rate consistently over 100 in an adult is concerning.

- Fever can differentiate milder viral causes of cough from pneumonia, but flu often causes high temperatures too, which can complicate diagnosis.

What Is Pneumonia?

Pneumonia is a serious lung infection that fills the air sacks in one or both lungs with fluid or pus. World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as, "a form of acute respiratory infection that is most commonly caused by viruses or bacteria. It can cause mild to life-threatening illness in people of all ages, however, it is the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide."

Cough Is A Poor Indicator Of Pneumonia

A significant issue with flu, according to Dr Porter, is that it often makes people feel terrible, making it harder to spot worrying symptoms of a more serious infection compared to milder viral coughs and colds. "The cough itself is a poor indicator of severity. Innocent viral coughs and colds can easily last two to three weeks, sound "chesty" and produce yellow or green phlegm, while a child with pneumonia may just have a nagging dry cough," he said in a video.

Meanwhile, Dr Shivanshu Goyal, an expert in Respiratory or Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, says that if your cough contains brown-coloured phlegm, fever and chest pain, then will lead to pneumonia. "If you experience these symptoms, it is crucial to seek medical attention, especially if the cough persists for more than a week or if there is blood in the cough. This is particularly important for individuals over 65 or those with underlying health conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases," he said.

Elaborating on the diagnosis of Pneumonia in people with persistent cough, he elaborated, "We conduct a basic chest X-ray. If a white patch is visible on the X-ray, it confirms the presence of pneumonia". Moreover, blood tests and sputum analysis may also be conducted to identify the specific cause of the infection.

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