Atypical pneumonia: what it is, symptoms and treatment

Atypical pneumonia is a lung infection caused by microorganisms less common than those of normal pneumonia, including viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae , Legionella pneumophila or Chlamydophila pneumoniae , for example.

This type of pneumonia is usually contagious through contact with droplets of saliva from the infected person and, therefore, it is more common among people who share small spaces, as with prisoners or the military, being an important suspect when the whole family presents the same symptoms.

Although known as severe pneumonia, atypical pneumonia is curable and can be treated at home with rest and use of antibiotics prescribed by the clinician or pulmonologist. What happens is that, as it is caused by other less common types of microorganisms, its treatment can be more difficult and time consuming, with greater chances of complications.

Main symptoms

The signs and symptoms of atypical pneumonia may be slightly different from those of common pneumonia, and include:

• Constant low fever; Dry cough that worsens over time; Runny nose; Difficulty breathing; Chest pain; Sore throat; Pain in muscles and joints; Easy tiredness.

Symptoms of atypical pneumonia can take 3 to 10 days to appear and can worsen over several weeks.

How to confirm the diagnosis

The diagnosis of atypical pneumonia is usually started with an assessment by the doctor, who tries to understand the symptoms and see if there has been contact with another person who might have a respiratory infection.

In addition, the doctor also checks for signs of severity and orders blood tests and a chest X-ray, especially to understand the type of pneumonia, since the pattern that appears in the X-ray result and in the blood tests tend to be different in the case of atypical pneumonia.

How to get it and who is most at risk

Atypical pneumonia is contagious and is easily transmitted through contaminated saliva droplets. Thus, it is always important to cover your mouth with a handkerchief or a mask to sneeze or cough, to avoid contaminating others with any type of respiratory infection.

As the symptoms of atypical pneumonia can take a few days to appear, it is possible that the person may be transmitting the disease before confirming the diagnosis, especially if they start having coughing or sneezing. Thus, people who live in the same house or who are in close contact are at greater risk of getting the infection and should, therefore, also go to the doctor to understand if they may be infected and start treatment.

Check out 10 important precautions to avoid catching pneumonia.

How the treatment is done

The treatment of atypical pneumonia lasts about 14 to 21 days and can be done at home using antibiotics, such as Erythromycin, Azithromycin or Levofloxacin, prescribed by the pulmonologist or emergency physician. Since atypical pneumonia is caused by microorganisms other than common pneumonia, it is possible that, during treatment, the antibiotics used are changed once or twice.

In addition, during treatment it is recommended:

• Make nebulisations according to the doctor's instructions; Avoid going to work or school; Keep at home; Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or a mask to sneeze or cough Drink lots of fluids, such as water, natural juice or tea; Avoid changes sudden temperature changes.

These precautions are important to prevent pneumonia from coming back or getting worse, causing complications such as respiratory arrest, encephalitis or myocarditis, for example.

Signs of worsening atypical pneumonia

Signs that the treatment is not taking effect include an increase in fever above 40º and worsening of the difficulty in breathing, which may result in rapid breathing and flapping of the nose.

In view of the signs of worsening, it is important to go to the hospital, as it may be necessary to undergo further tests, change antibiotics or stay in hospital for respiratory therapy, receive oxygen or injections of antibiotics into the vein.

Signs of improvement of atypical pneumonia

When treatment is successful, signs of improvement usually appear, such as a decrease in fever within 4 days, a decrease in tiredness and an increase in the ease of breathing.

Despite signs of improvement in atypical pneumonia, drug treatment of atypical pneumonia should be continued until the end of the antibiotic, preventing the pneumonia from coming back or worsening.