Affected patient groups

Pneumonia in babies: In newborns, pneumonia often takes the form of sepsis, i.e. blood poisoning. The small body is taken by surprise by the massive emergence of the pathogens, whereby the pathogens also enter the blood. Since the baby still has antibodies from the mother, which only disappear in the course of the next weeks and months, the immune system is not completely defenseless.

The pathogens in babies are usually staphylococci, streptococci, other Gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli and various strains of viruses. Sepsis is accompanied by other symptoms of pneumonia, such as coughing and breathing difficulties. Pneumonia in infants: It is sometimes difficult to put the symptoms together to form a clinical picture in infancy.

They are often unspecific, but usually have one thing in common – fever. Pneumonia should be ruled out at all costs whenever the fever is unclear. But at this point no panic should be spread: As a small child, humans have already built up antibodies against a wide variety of pathogens and the immune system is in the process of developing.

Pneumonia is now no longer as dangerous as in a baby. The pathogens are generally similar to those that can also be found in babies. In small children, however, a critical bacterium is added: Haemophilus influenzae.

In addition to pneumonia, this can colonize all other parts of the respiratory system and also cause meningitis.

Pneumonia in babies: In newborns, pneumonia often takes the form of sepsis, i.e. blood poisoning. The small body is taken by surprise by the massive emergence of the pathogens, whereby the pathogens also enter the blood.Since the baby still has antibodies from the mother, which only disappear in the course of the next weeks and months, the immune system is not completely defenseless.
The pathogens in babies are usually staphylococci, streptococci, other gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli and various strains of viruses. Sepsis is accompanied by other symptoms of pneumonia, such as coughing and breathing difficulties.
Pneumonia in infants: It is sometimes difficult to put the symptoms together to form a clinical picture in infancy. They are often unspecific, but usually have one thing in common – fever.
Pneumonia should be ruled out at all costs whenever the fever is unclear. But at this point no panic should be spread: As a small child, humans have already built up antibodies against a wide variety of pathogens and the immune system is in the process of developing. Pneumonia is now no longer as dangerous as in a baby.

The pathogens are generally similar to those that can also be found in babies. In small children, however, a critical bacterium is added: Haemophilus influenzae. In addition to pneumonia, this can colonize all other parts of the respiratory system and also cause meningitis.

To detect pneumonia, various examination methods can be used.

However, several should always be combined in order to make a clear diagnosis. During auscultation of the lung, i.e. listening to the chest with a stethoscope, typical rustling noises can be heard. An experienced physician can thus differentiate between different lung diseases and obtain an indication of the location of the inflammation through auscultation.

This knowledge can then be used in the examination with imaging techniques. If there is a suspicion of pneumonia, the first step is usually an X-ray. If bright spots or shades are visible in the lungs on the x-ray, these areas are poorly ventilated.

This in turn means that fluid is collecting or has collected in the lungs – a sign of pneumonia. If anything is unclear or the course of the disease is particularly severe, a computed tomography (CT) may be necessary. If the patient experiences pain when breathing, pleuritis must be ruled out.

This can be achieved by an ultrasound examination. Laboratory diagnostic tests can include blood, samples from lung secretion or a biopsy (tissue sample taken during surgery). The inflammation parameters are checked and tested for antibodies to identify the strain of the pathogen.