New York residents can contract pneumonia from a variety of sources, and the disease has the potential to worsen quickly if left alone. Self-diagnosis of pneumonia is difficult, however, due to the resemblance of early symptoms to those of the flu and the common cold. A visit to a doctor to determine whether a patient has pneumonia could be essential to one’s continued health.
New York residents can contract pneumonia from a variety of sources, and the disease has the potential to worsen quickly if left alone. Self-diagnosis of pneumonia is difficult, however, due to the resemblance of early symptoms to those of the flu and the common cold. A visit to a doctor to determine whether a patient has pneumonia could be essential to one’s continued health.
Following diagnostic questions to deduce what type of germs may be causing a possible pneumonia case, a doctor’s next step could be to check a patient’s lungs via stethoscope. Lungs make unusual noises when pneumonia is present such as rumbling, bubbling and crackling.
When questioning and stethoscope testing indicate a probable infection, a doctor may choose from a variety of further tests to finalize a plan of action. Blood and sputum testing may each help to reveal the specific germ causing the disease. Chest x-rays and CT scans allow doctors to diagnose pneumonia by examining a patient’s internal structures. As pneumonia can inhibit the oxygenation of blood, doctors may also choose to use a sensory ear or finger attachment to measure the oxygen quality in a patient’s blood. Finally, an invasive procedure called a bronchoscopy involves the insertion of a mobile camera tube down a patient’s throat to allow a doctor to examine the airways and trachea.
Pneumonia could cause serious lung damage or death if left untreated for too long. Doctors have many methods at their disposal to pinpoint the disease, and a failure to diagnose it could be a result of a doctor’s failure to fulfill his or her duty of care. In such a case, an affected patient may benefit from consulting with a medical malpractice attorney to seek compensation for his or her losses.
