World Pneumonia Day
Jakarta, IO – World Pneumonia Day is commemorated every year on 12 November. According to WHO’s 2019 data, pneumonia caused 14% of deaths among children under 5 years of age, or a total of 740,180 deaths for the year. The disease may attack anyone, but elders and children are the most vulnerable. According to the 2018 Indonesian Health Baseline Study, pneumonia attacked 2.5% of the 55–64-year-old population, 3.0% of the 65-74-year old population, and 2.9% of those 75 years and older.
During the “Beware the Pneumonia Lung Disease: Why Is It a Danger?” event held on Tuesday (7/11/2023), Dr. dr. Heidy Agustin, Sp.P(K), a pulmonologist from the Persahabatan Central General Hospital in Jakarta, declares that pneumonia is an infection in one or both lungs caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, or parasites. The initial symptoms include fever, coughing, chest pains, breathing restrictions, headaches, sweating (because of increased metabolism), loss of appetite, exhaustion, and/or confusion.
“Our lungs contain a large number of alveoli, which are air holes that cluster like grapes. Pneumonia occurs when the alveoli are stuffed with fluids or mucus. This will restrict the patient’s breathing, and may even lead to death, if not quickly treated,” stated the member of the Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI).
A healthy human body has mechanisms to filter pathogens that float freely in the air, which prevents infections. Pneumonia is an acute disease that occurs when the body fails to filter the pathogens that cause the disease, which is in turn due to low immunity.
“Other than immunodeficiency, conditions that trigger pneumonia include smoking and alcohol habits, suffering from another type of lung infection such as tuberculosis, or undergoing medication that contains corticosteroids. Patients suffering from cancer, recently undergoing an operation, or immobilized because of a stroke may be predisposed to the disease. Prolonged coughing not properly treated causes mucus to collect in the lungs, and this may also trigger pneumonia,” Dr. Heidy explained.
Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI)
A diagnosis of pneumonia is obtained after anamnesis of the patient’s complaints, physical check, X-ray photo of the thorax, and laboratory testing. “Older patients and patients suffering from immunodeficiency frequently suffer from uncharacteristic symptoms and indicators. Therefore, a diagnosis is based on thoracic X-rays that show foggy images in the lungs, or a bronchogram. Severity of pneumonia is assessed using the Pneumonia Severity Index (PSI) scoring system. If the score is lower than 70, the doctor will generally just prescribe oral medicine and allow the patient to be treated without hospitalization. More than that, the patient should be hospitalized.”
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Other than through vaccination, pneumonia can be prevented by improving one’s immunity through consumption of nutritious foods, cessation of smoking, and maintaining the cleanliness of the respiratory tract. “Even though we all need carbohydrates to move, it would be better for us to consume high-protein foods such as egg whites and cow or goat milk to improve our immunity. However, if you drink milk, make sure that you allow an interval of two hours to lapse before you take your medication,” she concluded. (est)