Bacterial Pneumonia

Bacterial pneumonia is a serious infection that sometimes need for hospitalization when pleural effusion or empyema accompanies the disease and is mandatory for children with staphylococcal pneumonia.

Signs and Symptoms of Bacterial Pneumonia:

• Acute onset, fever, toxic appearance
• In infant: irritability, poor feeding, lethargy, abrupt fever, respiratory distress
• In older child: chills, headache, abdominal pain, chest pain, and meningeal symptoms
• Diminished breath sound or scattered crackles
• Hacking, nonproductive cough
• Coarse crackles and wheezing are heard as the infections resolves

Nursing Interventions for Bacterial Pneumonia:

• Administer oxygen as prescribed
• Place the child in a mist tent as prescribed
• Administer antimicrobial, antipyretic, antitussives as prescribed
• Suction mucus if the infant is unable to handle secretions
• Chest physiotherapy and postural drainage every 4 hours as prescribed
• Encourage child to lie on the affected side to splint the chest and reduce the discomfort caused by pleural rubbing
• Provide fluid intake and take caution to prevent aspiration
• Institute isolation precautions according to the agency policy
• Continuous closed chest drainage may be instituted if purulent fluid is present
• Thoracentesis may be done to remove fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity