About Holy
Cross Hospital
Quality Reports
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is caused by a viral or bacterial infection that fills
your lungs with mucus. This lowers the oxygen level in your blood.
Community acquired pneumonia is a major contributor to illness
and mortality in the United States, causing 4 million episodes
of illness and nearly one million hospital admissions each year.
Symptoms of pneumonia can include the following:
- Difficulty breathing
- "Wet" cough.
Your mucus may look green or bloody.
- Chest pain
- Fever and
chills
- Fatigue
For more information about lung health, check:
Key Indicators
Scientific evidence indicates that the following
measures represent the best practices for the treatment of community-acquired
pneumonia. Higher scores are better.
- Oxygenation Assessment
Pneumonia
can lower the oxygen in your blood because the air spaces in your
lungs fill with mucus. The oxygen you breathe does not get into your
bloodstream. It is important that the amount of oxygen in your blood
be measured within 24 hours of arriving at the hospital to see if
you need oxygen therapy.
- Initial Antibiotic Timing
Early treatment
with antibiotics can cure bacterial pneumonia and reduce the possibility
of complications. This information shows the percent of patients
who were given their first dose of antibiotics within 4 hours of
arrival at the hospital.
- Pneumococcal Vaccination Status
The pneumococcal
vaccine can help prevent, or lower the risk of complications of pneumonia
caused by bacteria. It can also help prevent future infections. Patients
with pneumonia should be asked if they have been vaccinated recently
for pneumonia and, if not, should be given the vaccine.
- Influenza
Vaccination Status
Flu shots reduce the risk of influenza, a serious
and sometimes deadly lung infection that can spread quickly in a
community or facility. Hospitals should check to make sure that pneumonia
patients, particularly those who are age 50 or older, get a flu shot
during flu season to protect them from another lung infection and
to help prevent the spread of influenza.
- Blood Cultures Performed
in the Emergency Department Prior to Initial Antibiotic Received
in Hospital
Different types of bacteria can cause pneumonia. A blood
culture is a test that can help your doctor identify which bacteria
may have caused your pneumonia, and which antibiotic should be prescribed.
A blood culture is not always needed, but for patients who are first
seen in the hospital emergency department, it is important for the
accuracy of the test that blood culture be conducted before any antibiotics
are started. It is also important to start antibiotics as soon as
possible.
- Appropriate Initial Antibiotic Selection
Pneumonia is
a lung infection that is usually caused by bacteria or a virus. If
pneumonia is caused by bacteria, hospitals will treat the infection
with antibiotics. Different bacteria are treated with different antibiotics.
- Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling
Smoking damages your lungs
and can make it hard to breath. Smoking increases your chances of
getting pneumonia or other chronic lung diseases like emphysema and
bronchitis. Smoking is also linked to lung cancer, heart disease,
and stroke, and can cause premature death. It is important for you
to get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the
hospital. Quitting may reduce your chance of getting pneumonia again.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Hospital Compare
Additional Resources
To obtain more quality information regarding Pneumonia, please
visit the websites: The
Joint Commission and the U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services Hospital Compare.
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