Hey hey, there, friend!
Christina here with nursingschoolofsuccess.com and in this video we are diving into the pathophysiology
of pneumonia.
And, if you want more video trainings for more med-surg disorders that you've gotta
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Now, let's get into the pathophysiology of pneumonia.
Alrighty, so pneumonia is a super common condition that you'll see at clinical.
All it means is that there is an infection and inflammation in the lungs.
And this causes several problems, which we'll cover in this video.
So we're going to talk about the pathophysiology of pneumonia by walking through it step-by-step.
Now I just made up these steps for you to learn it easier, so you won't find them anywhere
else.
Just so you know, they won't be in your textbook or anything.
Alrighty, so step number 1 of pneumonia is there is an invasion.
Dun, dun, dun.
So this invasion can be a bacteria, a virus or fungi, so it's just a pathogen that sneaks
it's way into the lungs, OR it can actually be caused by an invasion of chemicals or something
else that causes irritation of the lungs.
For this video, though, we'll just focus on pneumonia caused by pathogens, because that's
the one you'll probably see the most at clinical.
So that's step one of pneumonia: there is an invasion of a pathogen.
Now, step 2, is the inflammatory response is triggered.
That good old inflammatory response.
So when this happens, the blood vessels dilate and the blood vessel walls actually separate
and become leaky (causing what we call "capillary leak").
So the blood vessels dilate and become leaky, so that all the white blood cells can move
out from the blood vessels, and go into the lungs into battle to fight off the invading
pathogens.
So that is actually step number 3 of this process, capillary leak.
And now, step number 4, is edema and exudate is created.
So with all that capillary leak, a lot of fluid is moving from the blood vessels, into
the lungs, and those white blood cells are fighting and fighting and fighting to get
rid of those pathogens.
So this causes a lot of exudate or debri build up inside the lungs - all of those dead pathogens
and white blood cells.
So now, there's a lot of gunkiness inside the lungs, all that fluid from the blood and
the exudate and debri from all the blood cells and pathogens.
And step number 5 of this process, is reduced gas exchange.
So we know that the lungs are responsible for gas exchange: getting oxygen into the
blood and removing carbon dioxide.
But with all this fluid and debri build up inside the lungs, it can't get oxygen or get
rid of carbon dioxide as well as it should.
So this can lead to respiratory acidosis because of all of that carbon dioxide build up in
the body - which causes the blood to become acidic.
And if pneumonia continues and that pathogen enters the blood stream, then sepsis can occur.
This is step number 6: sepsis.
And sepsis comes with it's own pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, assessment and interventions.
So if you need a refresher on that, you'll definitely want to check out sepsis pathophysiology
video we've got for you on that.
Definitely check it out!
So those are the steps of pneumonia: step number one: there is an invasion of a pathogen.
Step number 2: the inflammatory response is triggered.
Step number 3: capillary leak occurs, which leaks out blood cells and fluid.
Step number 4: there is edema and exudate building up in the lungs.
And all of this causes impaired gas exchange, which is step number 5.
And if the pathogen makes it's way into the blood stream, that leads to step number 6,
which is sepsis.
I hope that helps to clarify this whole process of pneumonia for you!
Like I said before, it you want even more videos like this and you want me to walk you
through nursing school step-by-step, you'll definitely want to check out the NursingSOS
Membership Community.
I'll pop a link down below in the description.
I can't wait to see you in there!
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Thanks for watching, friend!
Now go become the nurse that God created only YOU to be be.
And I'll catch you right back here next time, on the nursing school show, take care.