Bilateral Pneumonia: What It Is and Why Lung Inflammation Is Dangerous

Bilateral pneumonia is an infection in both lungs. Below are definitions, symptoms, and diagnosis (MedlinePlus).

Bilateral pneumonia: what it is

Pneumonia is inflammation of lung tissue, usually of infectious origin, involving the alveoli (Wikipedia). Alveoli are air sacs where gas exchange takes place. In pneumonia, they fill with fluid or pus (MedlinePlus). The infection may be in one lung or both (MedlinePlus). The bilateral form means the process is present on both the right and left. Unilateral, including left-sided lung inflammation, affects only one lung. Severity ranges from mild to severe and depends on the causative agent, age, and overall health (MedlinePlus).

What polysegmental pneumonia means

The lung is divided into segments — anatomical regions described on imaging. "Polysegmental" means the inflammation involves several segments. How much tissue is involved is shown by computed tomography of the chest — it visualizes which part of the lungs is affected and detects complications (MedlinePlus).

Causes of bilateral lung inflammation

The most common cause is bacteria (MedlinePlus). Among them are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b (MedlinePlus). Viruses also cause pneumonia: RSV, cold and flu viruses, SARS-CoV-2 (MedlinePlus). Fungal pneumonias occur more often in people with chronic diseases or weakened immunity (MedlinePlus). A separate mechanism is aspiration: food or liquid enters the airways and is not coughed out (MedlinePlus). Risk factors: age under 2 and over 65, smoking, heavy alcohol use, lung diseases, weakened immunity, impaired coughing and swallowing after stroke, being in hospital and on a mechanical ventilator, diabetes, heart and kidney failure (MedlinePlus).

Symptoms of bilateral pneumonia

Symptoms may appear suddenly or build up over several days.

• Cough, usually with sputum (MedlinePlus).
• Shortness of breath (MedlinePlus).
• High fever, chills, body aches (MedlinePlus, clinical guidelines).
• Chest pain when breathing and coughing (MedlinePlus).
• Weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, sometimes diarrhea (MedlinePlus, clinical guidelines).

Older people have fewer and milder symptoms: the temperature may be lower than usual, and weakness and sudden confusion appear (MedlinePlus, clinical guidelines). Newborns may show no signs of infection, and infants may have grunting or wheezing breathing (MedlinePlus, clinical guidelines).

How bilateral lung inflammation is detected

Pneumonia is hard to distinguish from a cold and flu: the symptoms coincide (MedlinePlus). The doctor takes a history, performs an examination, and listens to the lungs with a stethoscope (MedlinePlus). Basic tests are a chest X-ray, a complete blood count, and a blood culture (MedlinePlus). In severe cases, in older people, and in hospital, sputum analysis, chest CT, pleural fluid testing, pulse oximetry, and bronchoscopy are added (MedlinePlus).

Why pneumonia is dangerous in older people and when a doctor is needed

Complications: bacteremia with the risk of septic shock, lung abscesses, pleural diseases, kidney and respiratory failure (MedlinePlus). The risk of a serious course is higher in people over 65, with cardiovascular and chronic lung diseases, and in infants (clinical guidelines). Pneumonia remains one of the common causes of death in children and older people (Wikipedia). See a doctor if a cough lasts up to 3 weeks, sputum is yellow or green, chest pain appears when breathing and coughing, or there is shortness of breath (clinical guidelines).

A diagnosis of "bilateral pneumonia" is not in itself a reason to call an ambulance. 103 or 112 — if a person is gasping and cannot speak; the skin, lips, or tongue are pale, blue, or mottled; blood has appeared in the sputum; sudden confusion has occurred and the person does not understand where they are; a child cannot be woken or has gone limp (clinical guidelines).

Terms: alveoli — air sacs of the lungs; aspiration — food or liquid entering the airways; segment — an anatomical region of the lung; pleura — the tissue covering the lungs and lining the chest cavity (MedlinePlus).

This material is for reference and does not replace a doctor's consultation.

This content is for reference and does not replace a doctor's consultation. Medical disclaimer