Sepsis and Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an infection in the lungs. The infection can be only in one lung, or it can be in both. There are several causes of pneumonia but the most common are:

Left untreated, the infection can be deadly. In the days before antibiotics, it’s estimated that about one-third of those who developed bacterial pneumonia died.

Sepsis and septic shock can result from an infection anywhere in the body, including pneumonia. Pneumonia can be community-acquired, meaning someone develops pneumonia outside of the hospital. Pneumonia can also develop in a hospital or other healthcare facility, caused by a healthcare-associated infection (HAI). HAIs affect 1.7 million hospitalizations in the United States every year. An HAI is an infection contracted by people who are in the hospital for a different reason, such as surgery or treatment for another illness.

Sepsis, which was often called blood poisoning, is the body’s life-threatening response to infection. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment.

Suggested Citation:
Sepsis Alliance. Sepsis and Pneumonia. 2024. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/pneumonia/

Updated January 5, 2024.

 

Funding for this campaign was provided by unrestricted support from Dompé.

More About Pneumonia

Symptoms

Some people can have pneumonia and not know it, but the most common signs and symptoms are:

  • Fever
  • Cough, with phlegm
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sweating
  • Shaking chills
  • Headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Fatigue
  • Chest pain with breathing

You do not have to have all these symptoms to have pneumonia. You may have heard the term “walking pneumonia.” It’s not an official medical term, but it usually means that it is a mild case, producing milder, slower-to-develop symptoms.

Risk Factors

While anyone can develop pneumonia, some people are at higher risk than others. These include those who:

  • Are older
  • Are very young
  • Recently had a cold, influenza, or COVID-19
  • Smoke
  • Have a respiratory illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Were or are exposed to certain inhaled toxins
  • Recently had surgery
  • Are in an intensive care unit
  • Are malnourished
Treatment

Pneumonia treatment depends on the type of infection you have.

Bacterial

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial pneumonia. The type of antibiotic your doctor would choose depends on the bacteria causing the infection. If you have a prescription for antibiotics, you should finish all the medication, even if you start to feel better. You will begin to feel more like yourself before the infection is completely gone. If you stop the medications before the infection disappears, you could get a more serious pneumonia that can’t be treated as easily.

Viral

Viral pneumonia does not respond to antibiotics; they will not do any good. In general, there isn’t much that can be done for viral pneumonia other than advising that you rest and take in plenty of fluids to stay hydrated. In some cases, doctors may prescribe an anti-viral medication.

Fungal

Medications called anti-fungals treat fungal pneumonia.

Prevention

Sometimes we can prevent pneumonia. If you will have general anesthetic for  surgery, you could be at risk for developing a bacterial pneumonia. To lower the risk, you will be encouraged to get up and out of bed after the procedure, even if you may not feel up to it. If you can’t get up and move around, you will be encouraged to breathe deeply and cough on a regular basis. This is to help keep your lungs clear. You might be given a device called an incentive spirometer. This small device encourages you to take deep breaths, to expand your lungs.

There is a vaccine that can help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia, caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The CDC recommends that all adults over 50 and adults over 18 with certain risk factors receive the vaccine, as well as children younger than 5 years or older children who may be at risk.

There is also a vaccine for children to decrease their risk of developing one of four types of infections, including pneumonia:

  • Meningitis (infection in the brain)
  • Bacteremia (infection in the blood)
  • Otitis media (infection in the middle ear)
  • Pneumonia
Celebrities

Many celebrities have developed sepsis from pneumonia, including actor and TV personality Whoopie Goldberg, Prince Ranier of Monaco, and Muppet Creator Jim Henson. Learn about more celebrities who had sepsis here.

 

Related Resources

Information Guide

LA SEPSIS Y LA NEUMONÍA

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Information Guide

Pneumonia

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Madison Coulter

Hi! My name is Madison and I am a grateful survivor of septic shock. It all began on December 4, 2024 when I was feeling extremely tired and worn down. I took my temperature to see I had a 101.7 fever. I monitored my temperature and exhaustion the following two days. My fever increased and fluctuated between 102 and 103 in those two days. I visited urgent care where I tested negative for strep, flu, and Covid, and was sent home with antibiotics to treat a UTI. I was already accompanied by some moderate back pain at this point, but ... Read Full Story

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Sarah Cowles

Sarah started her February 16, Friday morning babysitting her youngest grandson for a few hours while my sister had to work. She noticed her stomach was upset a little bit throughout the day. She was familiar with stomach issues and took medication to help with nausea. She was living with diabetes, kidney disease, a blood clotting disorder, and more. She managed well for a 58-year-old woman and joked about her owning her own pharmacy. That afternoon, we decided  to order a pizza since there was a snow storm. By 7pm when it arrived, she suddenly started to vomit very harshly ... Read Full Story

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Brandon B.

Shortly after Hurricane Beryl hit Houston, Tx in July 2024, our (23yo) son diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disease, began to exhibit signs of illness. When someone you love is unable to communicate it’s one of the most difficult challenges you face as a caregiver. Initially we thought Brandon’s behavior changes were a sign of frustration due to the extended power outages in our area. Then came a sudden onset of 103 degree fever with increasing agitation. We immediately took him to the ER for assessment which revealed an ear infection and kidney stone. Shortly after arriving he ... Read Full Story

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Paula Jacobs

After working on development of one of the country’s first electronic sepsis alerts, followed by 18 years of leading teams in early detection and treatment of sepsis, I thought I knew everything there was to know about sepsis. But I did not know how it makes you feel. That all changed in 2016 when I developed severe sepsis after just a couple of days of fever from undiagnosed pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) There was no preceding upper respiratory illness, no cough, just fever and extreme fatigue. It was about the sickest I had ever felt, with that vague yet horrible ... Read Full Story

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Marie Mubaiwa

I had what I thought was a cold. I just took cough medicine until the next day I started having chest pains and heart palpitations. At first I thought it would go away. People thought I was overreacting until something told me this doesn’t feel right. I became breathless and called for an ambulance. They didn’t have any available for four hours so I used the little strength I had to get an Uber to the emergency services. When I got there I was quickly admitted the last thing I remember was being told I had pneumonia and being taken ... Read Full Story

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Pneumonia