Upper and Lower Respiratory

Infections
•An upper respiratory infection, or upper respiratory
tract infection, is a disease caused by an acute
infection of the upper respiratory tract : nose ,
sinuses , pharynx or larynx . Most upper respiratory
infections are caused by viruses , especially
rhinovirus.
•• Upper respiratory infections include
rhinosinusitis , common flu , sinusitis , pharyngitis ,
adenitis , laryngitis and occasionally otitis .

•The main symptoms include nasal congestion ,

cough , rhinitis , sore throat , fever and sneezing .
The appearance of symptoms takes 1-3 days after
exposure to the pathogen and lasts between 7 and
10 days, although they can persist for longer.
Rhinusinusitis
• Sinusitis , or rhinosinusitis , is an inflammatory
response of the mucosa of the nose and paranasal
sinuses that may be due to infection by bacterial, viral, or
fungal agents; or an allergic condition; or a combination
of these factors
• It is characterized by rhinorrhea (runny nose), nasal
obstruction and facial pain; There may be hyposmia or
anosmia , cough, fever, fatigue, dental pain, halitosis and
ear discomfort.
 If the infection is of bacterial origin, all three
Most common causative agents are Streptococcus
pneumoniae , Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella
catarrhalis . In the past, Haemophilus influenzae was the
most common bacterial agent causing sinus infections.
However, since the introduction of the Hib vaccine there has
been a drastic decrease in infections caused by H.
influenza type B and non-typeable strains of the bacteria
are now seen more frequently. Other pathogenic bacteria
include Staphylococcus aureus and other streptococcal
species, anaerobic bacteria, and, less commonly, gram-
negative bacteria.http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteria_Gram_negativa
•
• Characterized by pain in the area of the inflamed
sinus, fever may or may not appear, nasal
obstruction, rhinorrhea (sometimes purulent),
retronasal discharge, severe headache that
commonly projects to the paranasal sinuses that
may have crises from 1 hour to 5 hours. hours;
especially secondary to episodes of cough. In any
case, a doctor's consultation is required, since it is a
generally benign disease, but serious complications
can appear if it is not treated promptly.
The flu
Influenza , flu or influenza is an infectious disease
of birds and mammals caused by a type of RNA
virus from the Orthomyxoviridae family . The words
flu and flu come from the French word grippe (from
the Swiss-German grupi ) (to curl up).
• In humans it affects the respiratory tract, initially it
can be similar to a cold and is often accompanied by
general symptoms such as sore throat, weakness,
muscle pain ( myalgia ), stomach pain, joint pain (
arthralgia ) and headache ( headache ), with cough
(which is generally dry and without mucus), general
malaise and some signs such as fever.
The flu is transmitted from infected individuals
through virus-laden aerosol droplets (from nasal or
bronchial secretions or saliva containing any of them),
which are emitted with coughs or sneezes or just
when talking. Much more rarely, through the feces of
infected birds. It is also transmissible through blood
and through surfaces or objects contaminated with
the virus , which are called fomites .
 •Influenza viruses resist more in dry
and cold environments. They can retain their
infective capacity for a week at human body
temperature, for 30 days at 0 °C and for much longer
at lower temperatures. It can be easily inactivated by
detergents or disinfectants.
•Treatment is only symptomatic and in severe and
hospital cases it is only constant maintenance,
since antiviral drugs have very limited
effectiveness (the most effective are
neuraminidase inhibitors) and are not devoid of
toxicity. Antibiotics are only useful if there is an
associated bacterial infection.
Pharyngitis
• Pharyngitis is inflammation of the mucosa that lines
the pharynx . It is generally accompanied by
symptoms such as difficult swallowing, swollen
tonsils and a more or less high fever . Possible
causes of pharyngitis are viral infections, bacterial
infections or allergic reactions. The main bacterial
causative agents are Streptococcus pyogenes and
Haemophilus influenzae , among others.
•Ittheis theepipharynx
inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa, from
to the hypopharynx, which is
characterized by the following symptoms:
• Dysphagia and/or odynophagia
• Mucosal hyperemia
• Dysthermia (from low-grade fever to hyperthermia).
• Asthenia
•Adenomegaly , especially subangularmandibular.
• Cold sores
• red tonsils
Laryngitis
• Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx .
Laryngitis is considered acute if it lasts a couple of
days. It is considered chronic if it lasts more than two
weeks.
• Laryngitis,
viruses .
with very rare exceptions, is caused by
• This disease can be caused by: viral infection.
• a bacterial or fungal pathogen. inflammation of the
• Gastroesophageal reflux
vocal cords due to stress. presence of nodules .

•
•
 or more

• The most common and obvious symptom is deterioration of the

voice, which can range from a harsh hoarseness to complete loss of
the ability to speak (the voice comes out as a whisper).
Other symptoms may be, but not in all cases:

• Fever

• Dry and sore throat, with difficulty swallowing.

• Difficulty breathing (especially in children) and the ribs may be

marked.
• Constant cough and sometimes produces chest pain (which can be
not only a symptom, but also the cause).

• All the symptoms of a cold or flu (which can also be the cause).

• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, chest or face.

• Ear pain
otitis
• Otitis is inflammation of the ear and/or its tissues and
parts. According to their anatomical location, they are
classified as otitis externa and otitis media . The
specialty of medicine that treats this type of pathology
is Otorhinolaryngology .

• Otitis Externa is inflammation of the external auditory

canal (EAC), generally due to an infectious cause.
External otitis of bacterial origin is divided into four
types:
•Circumscribed Acute Otitis Externa - Like a boil of
the external non-internal auditory canal,
•Acute diffuse otitis Externa - whose existence is
doubted,
• Chronic Otitis Externa ,
• Invasive" or malignant otitis
•into
Acute otitis media is practically divided
non-acute otitis media.
suppurative and acute suppurative otitis media , both are
different phases of the same
disease. Chronic otitis media is practically divided into
simple chronic otitis media and cholesteatomatous
chronic otitis media .

• The poor evolution of otitis media can cause progression

of inflammation/infection towards other severe clinical
conditions: Labyrinthitis , mastoiditis, facial paralysis,
brain abscesses and can even trigger more lethal
diseases such as meningitis.
• Lower Respiratory Infections
•Also known as inferior; Lower respiratory infections
are those where the infectious agent attacks or
damages the area of the respiratory system under
the larynx, and includes the trachea, bronchi,
bronchioles and pulmonary alveoli.

Lower respiratory infections always present a

greater problem compared to upper respiratory
infections due to their great frequency and impact.
The lower respiratory tract includes the larynx (vocal
cords where the voice is emitted) and the trachea,
that is, the thick tube that continues the larynx
downwards and then branches into two thick
bronchi, one for each lung, within which They branch
into thousands of small bronchi and tiny bronchioles,
which lead to the alveoli, a kind of sac that
constitutes the lung itself and where the blood
coming from the heart takes oxygen from the air and
expels carbon dioxide.
• When an infection attacks the lower respiratory tract,
depending on the site, we speak of laryngitis (also
called "croup"), tracheitis, bronchitis, bronchiolitis,
alveolitis or pneumonitis (which is the same as
pneumonia) and combinations of these such as:
laryngotracheobronchitis, bronchopneumonia, etc.
Pneumonia
• Pneumonia or pneumonia is a disease of the respiratory
system that consists of inflammation of the alveolar spaces
of the lungs . Most of the time pneumonia is infectious, but
this is not always the case. Pneumonia can affect an entire
lung lobe ( lobar pneumonia ), a segment of the lobe,
alveoli next to the bronchi ( bronchopneumonia ), or
interstitial tissue ( interstitial pneumonia ). Pneumonia
causes the tissue that makes up the lungs to look red,
swollen, and become painful.
• Viruses need to invade cells to reproduce. Viruses
normally reach the lungs through the air, being
inhaled through the mouth or nose, or when eating
food. Once in the lung, the viruses invade the cells
lining the airways and alveoli.
• This invasion often leads to cell death, either directly
or through apoptosis . When the immune system
responds to the viral infection it causes more
lung damage. Leukocytes , mainly lymphocytes ,
activate a variety of chemical mediators of
inflammation - such as cytokines , which increase
the permeability of the alveolar bronchus wall,
allowing the passage of fluids. The combination of
cell destruction and the passage of fluids into the
alveolus worsens gas exchange.
•• Viral pneumonias are mainly caused by
influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus ,
adenovirus . The herpes virus is a rare cause of
pneumonia except in newborns. Cytomegalovirus
can cause pneumonia in immunocompromised
people
• Pneumonia can be caused by several etiological
agents:
 Pneumonia can be caused by several etiological agents:
•Multiple bacteria , such as pneumococcus ( Streptococcus
pneumoniae ), Mycoplasmas pneumoniae , Chlamydias
10
pneumoniae .
• Different viruses .
• Fungi, such as Pneumocystis jiroveci , candida .
•InStreptococcus
newborns, pneumonia is usually caused by:
pneumoniae , Staphylococcus aureus and
occasionally gram-negative bacilli.
•In infants (children from 1 month to 2 years) and
preschoolers (children from 2 years to 5 years): the main
bacterial pathogen is Streptococcus pneumoniae , and it is
also occasionally caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and
Mycoplasma pneumoniae .