How to diagnose cold pneumonia? | The diagnosis of pneumonia

How to diagnose cold pneumonia?

The diagnosis of a cold or atypical pneumonia is in most cases complicated by the absence of typical symptoms such as elevated body temperature or fever. Here too, the physician first asks the patient about his or her medical history and conducts a physical examination. Patients often suffer from fatigue, dry cough and chest pain.

During the physical examination, the doctor often finds no abnormalities. Also the blood values are usually only slightly changed in cold pneumonia. An X-ray of the thorax must always be taken if atypical pneumonia is suspected.

The images often show an inflammatory infiltrate in the lungs. An infiltrate describes foreign, pathogenic cells, tissue or even fluids in the imaging. The detection of atypical pathogens in blood or sputum diagnostics ensures the diagnosis of cold pneumonia.