What is infarct pneumonia?
Infarct pneumonia is a special form of pneumonia that occurs after a so-called pulmonary embolism. It is therefore a complication of pulmonary embolism. The term pulmonary embolism is used in medical terminology to describe an acute infarction of the lung tissue caused by an occlusion of the pulmonary arteries.
This occlusion is usually the result of a leg vein thrombosis. The blood clot is usually carried by the vascular system from the leg veins to the pulmonary arteries, where it causes an infarction similar to a heart attack. Infarct pneumonia is a rather rare complication of pulmonary embolism that requires antibiotic treatment.
Causes of an infarct pneumonia
Infarct pneumonia develops as a complication of a pulmonary infarction. The lung infarction as such is usually the result of a pulmonary embolism, which is an acute occlusion of the pulmonary arteries. This occlusion is usually caused by blood clots, so-called thrombi, in the veins of the legs, which can be carried through the venous system to the heart and from there to the lungs.
Lung infarctions and, as a consequence, infarct pneumonia are also less frequently caused by a central venous access in the hospital (central venous catheter) or by fat embolisms. The latter are mainly complications of major surgical interventions, such as the insertion of endoprostheses. Infarct pneumonia is caused by a very distal occlusion of the pulmonary arteries.
Such an occlusion means that the blood supply to the lung tissue can no longer be maintained and the tissue becomes necrotic – in other words, it dies. Bacteria can now easily penetrate the tissue and cause pneumonia. Pulmonary embolism is an occlusion of the pulmonary artery, usually caused by so-called thrombi.
This type of blood clot is most often formed in the leg and pelvic veins. Such blood clots can be carried by the bloodstream into the heart and then further into the pulmonary arteries. There they cause an embolism, i.e. an occlusion of the pulmonary artery.
People with thrombophilia, a predisposition to the formation of blood clots, are particularly at risk. Other factors, such as smoking, long periods of confinement to bed, surgery or pregnancy, also increase the risk of such a thrombosis and, as a result, of pulmonary embolism. If the arteries lying far out in the lung tissue are blocked, a lung infarction can occur. The blood supply to the tissue is then completely interrupted, resulting in wedge-shaped infarcts and the lung tissue dies off. An infarct pneumonia can then develop as a complication in such an area.
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