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Weeelll, I can answer as a patient :) I had atypical pneumonia and my only s/s was that I would start spiking a fever late in the afternoon. I'd go home from work and go to bed and by morning the fever was gone, so I went to work (this was before NS when I had an office job). After about a week of this I started feeling REALLY bad at work and left early. When I got home my temp was 104.9 Of course it was Friday, so then I did not get to my MD until Monday. I never had respiratory s/s, but he did a CXR on a hunch. He called me later that day (personally) and said "stay in bed, you have pneumonia!" Shortly after I developed a slight productive cough, but I never had the s/s you would think of with pneumonia.
I'd say good lung down - aids oxygenation to the affected lung, and increased perfusion of the good lung which is down would maximize the oxygenation.
This article is somewhat old, but has good explanation: How Position Affects Oxygenation Good Lung down?, by Evelyn M. J. Yeaw. American Journal of Nursing.
LuvScrubs2, BSN, RN
306 Posts
Does anyone know what is atypical pneumonia & how the patient will present with symptoms? I wasn't sure if atypical pneumonia is the same as bacterial pneumonia?