Bacterial Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a lung infection. Bacterial pneumonia is a lung infection caused by bacteria. The most common type of bacterial pneumonia is pneumococcal pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia usually affects an entire lobe of the lung; doctors call this lobar pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia often comes on during or after an upper respiratory infection, like the flu or a cold.

Symptoms of bacterial pneumonia include bluish lips and finger nails from lack of oxygen in the blood, teeth chattering, chills, high fever, cough with rust or green-colored phlegm, chest pain etc.

People over 65 have the highest risk for bacterial pneumonia. Other groups with a higher risk are people over two years old who smoke, live in a nursing home, have a chronic (long-term) illness, are pregnant or have HIV or other conditions associated with a weak immune system.

Antibiotics are used to kill bacteria causing pneumonia. In serious cases, intravenous (IV) fluids are used to prevent dehydration, intravenous antibiotics are injected in veins or breathing treatments with oxygen are used.

With proper treatment, most people with bacterial pneumonia feel better within a week or two. But in serious cases, it may take longer to feel better. The best way to prevent bacterial pneumonia is to get the pneumonia vaccine.

Carcinoid Lung Tumours

Midway tumors can neither be classified as benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Their clinical behavior falls between the two classifications of benign and malignant. Among these rare tumors are carcinoid tumors.

Carcinoid tumors have also been called "cancers in slow motion." Even though they have the potential for being malignant, they mostly tend to grow at a slow pace that patients generally live for many years.

Carcinoid lung tumors are an uncommon group of lung tumors, developing from neuroendocrine cells. These cells are in some respect like nerve cells and in other ways like cells of endocrine glands. These cells are scattered throughout the body and can be found in different organs. These cells can form tumors in many different organs, but usually occur in other endocrine glands such as the adrenal or thyroid glands, or the intestinal tract. Carcinoid tumors develop due to uncontrolled growth of these cells. Most carcinoid tumors instigate in the small intestine, but carcinoid lung tumors represent about ten per cent of all carcinoid tumors. Carcinoid lung tumors comprise one to six per cent of all lung tumors.

Carcinoid lung tumors are classified into typical and atypical tumors. Typical carcinoid lung tumors are about nine times more common than atypical carcinoid lung tumors. These tumors characteristically grow gradually and seldom metastasize (spread) beyond the lungs, whereas atypical carcinoid lung tumors are relatively more aggressive and are somewhat more likely to metastasize to other parts.

About twenty five per cent of lung carcinoid tumors are positioned within the airways and are referred to as bronchial carcinoids. Anyone can develop a carcinoid tumor of the lung.