It is not uncommon for elderly people to be affected with Pneumonia, but there are various forms of this particular disease that can really be dangerous, all of which remain associated with varied symptoms. Now, the symptoms exhibited by elderly people are quite different from those who are relatively younger in age. In general, some of the indications are chills, headache, bloody mucus, lethargy and excessive sweating. For all the right reasons, Pneumonia is looked upon as a widespread and serious form of an infection. This is because of its higher degree of incidence, mortality, morbidity and increased health care costs associated with this particular form of an ailment. Research in medical field has established the fact that people with strong immune system are less likely to be affected with this disease. On the other hand, those with weak body resistance and enhanced susceptibility to respiratory ailments are exposed to a greater degree of risk of developing this form of disease.
The cost associated with Pneumonia treatment is quite high perhaps because people diagnosed with a similar form of a disease require hospitalization more often than not. In this context, you ought to understand that in the absence of proper monitoring and medical care, the condition of most patients affected with Pneumonia keeps deteriorating. Patients with uncomplicated and milder forms of this disease do not require hospitalization, and benefitting from medical treatment at home is more than sufficient. Simple “walking treatment” is what is required for ensuring their wholesome recovery and so bed confinement is not required in their case. High medical expenditure is one of the reasons that doctors have decided to limit the number of uncalled-for hospitalization cases. Caring People website has covered the topic of Pneumonia in seniors in detail.
Recently conducted studies have revealed that most of the nursing in-home residents can easily be spared from the need of getting hospitalized by benefiting from simple Pneumonia treatments in nursing homes. Since elderly people in nursing homes already benefit from medical assistance and surveillance, hospital care is rarely needed in their case. Going by this fact, hospitalization is hardly a requirement for them. Patients can benefit immensely by not having to get hospitalized at all. In fact, judging from a financial point of view, it can be said that avoidance of hospitalization can go a long way in helping a patient save up to 1.500 dollars and this way cost of pneumonia treatment is significantly lessened.
The mean cost of pneumonia treatment varies according to the type of the disease. For ventilated patient, the cost is twice as compared to that of a non-ventilated patient. Quite alarming is it to know that ventilator support in Intensive Care Unit is most expensive followed by the cost associated with the use of antibiotics and the need to carry out further investigations. By going through the information, you are expected to boost your knowledge horizon.