Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis

Pneumonia Main Page
Bacterial pneumonia Microchapters
Home
Patient Information
Overview
Historical Perspective
Pathophysiology
Causes
Differentiating Bacterial pneumonia from other Diseases
Epidemiology and Demographics
Risk Factors
Natural History, Complications and Prognosis
Diagnosis
History and Symptoms
Physical Examination
Laboratory Findings
Chest X Ray
CT
Other Imaging Findings
Other Diagnostic Studies
Treatment
Medical Therapy
Primary Prevention
Secondary Prevention
Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy
Future or Investigational Therapies
Case Studies
Case #1
Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis On the Web
Most recent articles
cited articles
Review articles
CME Programs
Powerpoint slides
Images
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis All Images X-rays Echo & Ultrasound CT Images MRI
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse
NICE Guidance
FDA on Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis
CDC onBacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis
Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis in the news
Blogs on Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis
to Hospitals Treating Bacterial pneumonia
Risk calculators and risk factors for Bacterial pneumonia differential diagnosis

Differentiating Bacterial Pneumonia from other Diseases

Differential Diagnosis of Pneumonia by Infectious Agent

Disease	Findings	Common Organisms
Typical Bacterial		S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, S. aureus, anaerobes, group A streptococci, Moraxella catarrhalis.
Atypical Bacterial		Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Legionella spp, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and C. psittaci.
Viral
Fungi
Parasite

Differential Diagnosis of Pneumonia

Disease	Findings
Acute bronchitis	No infiltrates seen on the chest X-ray.
Asthma	Past medical history, no infiltrates seen on chest X-ray.
Bronchiolitis obliterans	Should be suspected in patients with pneumonia who do not respond to antibiotics treatment.
Congestive heart failure	Bilateral pulmonary edema, shortness of breath.
COPD	Past medical history, no infiltrates on chest X-ray, fever is uncommon.
Empyema	CXR showing features of pleural effusion, inflammatory markers on thoracocentesis.
Endocarditis	Finding of septic pulmonary emboli
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)	Normal chest X-ray, symptoms are worse during night and associated with meals.
Lung abscess	Chest X-ray shows signs of lung abscess.
Lung cancer	Weight loss, clear sputum. CT scan and biopsy are helpful in ruling out malignancy.
Pertussis	Productive cough for weeks, nasopharyngeal aspirate aids in diagnosis.
Pulmonary embolus	A high degree of suspicion should be kept for pulmonary embolus. Chest X-ray may be normal.
Sinusitis	Sinus tenderness, post nasal drip.
Vasculitis	Systemic manifestations of collagen vascular disease may be seen.