© Borgis - Medycyna Rodzinna 1, p. 6-10
*Elżbieta Mazur
Atypowe zapalenia płuc – obraz kliniczny, diagnostyka mikrobiologiczna
The atypical pneumonias – clinical symptoms and microbiological diagnosis
Katedra Mikrobiologii Lekarskiej Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Lublinie
Kierownik: prof. dr hab. Maria Kozioł-Montewka
Summary
The study presents state-of-the-art knowledge on the atypical pneumonias. The term "atypical pneumonia” was first applied to clinically milder course of this disease in comparison to typical, pneumococcal pneumonia. Currently atypical pneumonias mean lower respiratory tract infections due to specific, atypical pathogens, different from typical bacteria. They are now considered to be systemic infectious diseases with a pulmonary component and may be differentiated clinically from typical pneumonias by the pattern of extrapulmonary organ involvement which is characteristic for each atypical pneumonia. Although differentiation of pneumonias based on clinical presentation can help in the preliminary diagnosis, it´s not sufficient, since it is now widely recognized that the clinical course of pneumonia may be similar whether caused by typical or atypical respiratory pathogens. The importance of the atypical pneumonias is not related to their frequency but to difficulties in their diagnosis, and their nonresponsiveness to beta-lactam therapy.
The most frequent etiological agents causing atypical pneumonias were characterized, namely Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia (Chlamydophila) pneumoniae and Legionella spp. Clinical symptoms and microbiological diagnosis allowing to differentiate atypical from typical bacterial pneumonias were described. Particular attention was dedicated to infections caused by Legionella spp., since the number of confirmed Legionnairs´ disease cases is considered to be underestimated in comparison with its real prevalence.
Key words: atypical pneumonias, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia ( Chlamydophila) pneumoniae, Legionella spp.
Pi¶miennictwo
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otrzymano/received: 2007-12-14
zaakceptowano/accepted: 2007-12-27
Adres/address:
*Elżbieta Mazur
Katedra Mikrobiologii Lekarskiej
ul. ChodĽki 1, 20-093 Lublin,
tel. 081 742 37 85
e-mail: elamazur@yahoo.com
