Pneumonia
Course Overview
Pneumonia is a substantial healthcare concern, ranking among the most common reasons for emergency department and outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and deaths among both adults and children. Decreasing the incidence of pneumonia and its associated morbidity and mortality requires a multifaceted approach and a strategy that includes: a concerted effort to improve rates of pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations, especially among high-risk populations; better adherence to guideline-recommended treatment; systems-level approaches to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics; and performance improvement initiatives to reduce healthcare-associated infections.
Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:
- Discuss the epidemiology, scope, and classification of pneumonias.
- Predict the likely etiology (pathogens) in a given case of pneumonia, based on epidemiologic features, clinical setting, and risk factor assessment.
- Assess the diagnostic probability of pneumonia in a given patient, using careful history and clinical examination findings.
- Determine, by clinical criteria and severity of illness score, which patients with pneumonia require hospitalization or admission to an intensive care unit.
- Develop a management plan for community-acquired pneumonia, including selection of initial antibiotic therapy appropriate to clinical context and site of care, in accordance with established guidelines.
- Outline the diagnosis and management of community-acquired pneumonia in pediatric patients.
- Devise a strategy for prevention of community-acquired pneumonia, including risk factor reduction and recommended immunization protocols.
- Identify the epidemiology and risk factors of hospital-acquired, ventilator-associated, and nursing home-acquired pneumonia.
- Anticipate the likely pathogens and antibiotic-sensitivity patterns associated with pneumonia that arises in healthcare facilities.
- Initiate the management of patients with hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated pneumonia, including guideline-adherent selection of empiric antibiotic therapy.
- Develop a strategy to reduce the risk of pneumonia for patients in healthcare facilities.
About the Author/Presenter
Carol Whelan, APRN, has been working in nursing education since 2000. She received her Master's degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut, and completed post-graduate nurse practitioner training at Yale University. Ms. Whelan is an Associate Clinical Professor and Lecturer at Yale University and works as an APRN at the Department of Veterans' Affairs in Connecticut, where she also serves as the Vice President of Medical Staff. She has authored many articles, textbook chapters, and books.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
TRC Healthcare/ NetCE
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by TRC Healthcare/ NetCE. TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Nursing, Pharmacy, Physician
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