ETIOLOGY

Predisposing Factors di ma change

Factors

Age

Actual
Present Absen
t

Rationale

People younger than 1 year or older than 65 are

more likely to develop pneumonia. In particular,
babies and newborns are at increased risk of
breathing mucus or saliva from the nose or mouth,
liquids, or food from the stomach into the lungs.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html
The patient is younger than 1 year old, 26 days in
specific. Her immune system is not yet well
developed.

Season

Most pneumonia infections occur during wet season.

Ethnicity

http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html
People of Native Alaskan or certain Native American
ethnicities are more at risk of developing
pneumonia.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html

Precipitating Factors ma change

Factors

Alcohol or
drug use

Actual
Present Absen
t

Rationale

Alcohol and drug use or abuse is closely associated

with the development of pneumonia. First, alcohol
acts as a sedative and diminishes the reflexes that
trigger coughing and sneezing. Alcohol also
interferes with white blood cells that destroy bacteria
and other microbes.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html

Diet

Pneumonia occurs more frequently in people who are

malnourished.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html

Drug use

Medical
history

Intravenous drug abusers are at risk for pneumonia

from infections that start at the injection site and
spread through the bloodstream to the lungs.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html
People diagnosed with flu, chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, asthma, respiratory illnesses, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic
illnesses (heart or lung disease), stroke, viral
pneumonia are at risk of getting bacterial
pneumonia.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html

Medicatio
ns

Smoke
and
environm
ental
pollutants

Smoking

People who use medicines for gastroesophageal

reflux disease (GERD) are at higher risk of
pneumonia.
http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html
The risk for pneumonia in people who smoke more
than a pack a day is three times that of nonsmokers.
Also, people who are chronically exposed to
secondhand cigarette smoke are also at risk. Chronic
exposure to certain chemicals (eg, work in
construction or agriculture) such as toxic fumes,
industrial smoke, and other air pollutants may also
damage cilia function, which is a defense against
bacteria in the lungs.

http://ehealthforum.com/healthcenter/pneumonia/pn
eumonia_causes_and__risk_factors-e655.html
Smoking damages the body's natural defenses
against the bacteria and viruses that cause
pneumonia.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pneumonia/DS001
35/DSECTION=risk-factors

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pneumonia-symptoms-in-babies.html -sympto