COMMUNITY ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA
EXAM SCRIPT COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
GUIDE
●● risk factors
Answer: older age, comorbidities, viral respiratory infections,
smoking/alcohol
●● Bacterial Causes:
Answer: S. pneumoniae (most common cause),
Haemophilus influenzae,
M.catarrhalis
●● Clinical Presentation
Answer: Cough (with or without sputum production), dyspnea,
fever,
pleuritic chest pain
chills,
fatigue,
malaise,
anorexia
, ●● Sepsis presentation
Answer: hypotension, altered mental status, and signs of organ
dysfunction such as renal dysfunction, liver dysfunction, and/or
thrombocytopenia
●● Physical Examination
Answer: -tachypnea
-increased work of breathing
-adventitious breath sounds, including rales/crackles and rhonchi
-Tactile fremitus, egophony, and dullness to percussion
Tachycardia
●● Labs
Answer: -leukocytosis with a leftward shift, or leukopenia
-Inflammatory markers:
ESR
C-reactive protein (>61)
Procalcitonin (*specific to bacterial)
●● Diagnosis
Answer: -infiltrates on CXR
EXAM SCRIPT COMPREHENSIVE STUDY
GUIDE
●● risk factors
Answer: older age, comorbidities, viral respiratory infections,
smoking/alcohol
●● Bacterial Causes:
Answer: S. pneumoniae (most common cause),
Haemophilus influenzae,
M.catarrhalis
●● Clinical Presentation
Answer: Cough (with or without sputum production), dyspnea,
fever,
pleuritic chest pain
chills,
fatigue,
malaise,
anorexia
, ●● Sepsis presentation
Answer: hypotension, altered mental status, and signs of organ
dysfunction such as renal dysfunction, liver dysfunction, and/or
thrombocytopenia
●● Physical Examination
Answer: -tachypnea
-increased work of breathing
-adventitious breath sounds, including rales/crackles and rhonchi
-Tactile fremitus, egophony, and dullness to percussion
Tachycardia
●● Labs
Answer: -leukocytosis with a leftward shift, or leukopenia
-Inflammatory markers:
ESR
C-reactive protein (>61)
Procalcitonin (*specific to bacterial)
●● Diagnosis
Answer: -infiltrates on CXR
