Posted: January 24th, 2017

acute bronchitis and pneumonia share many of the same symptoms, and some people with acute bronchitis are at risk for getting pneumonia

expert researcher

acute bronchitis and pneumonia share many of the same symptoms, and some people with acute bronchitis are at risk for getting pneumonia. Acute bronchitis usually goes away within a few weeks, whereas pneumonia can be a serious condition, especially in older adults (Difference, 2016). Some of the symptoms a 55 year old may present with are: a dry cough at first, meaning it does not produce mucus. After a few days, cough may bring up mucus from the lungs. The mucus may be clear, yellow, or green, and may be tinged with blood. In pneumonia, a patient of 55 years of age may have a cough that brings up mucus from the lungs. The mucus may be rusty or green or tinged with blood. The patient with bronchitis will either not have a fever or low grade. Also, the diagnostic imaging would be clear and these symptoms would go away within 2 to 3 weeks. The patient with pneumonia will have a fever greater than 101.0, chills and shakes, would present tachycardia, tachypnea. The x-ray would not be clear and the symptoms would last longer than 2-3 weeks (Difference, 2016).