Being knowledgeable about the factors and circumstances that commonly
predispose people to pneumonia helps identify patients at high risk for the
disease (Bartlett, 2019a).For
example, staphylococcal pneumonia has been noted after epidemics of
influenza, and patients with COPD are at increased risk for development of
pneumonia caused by pneumococci or H. influenzae.Pneumonia occurs in patients with certain underlying disorders such as
heart failure, diabetes, alcoholism, COPD, and AIDS (Klompas, 2019a).Increasing numbers of patients who have
compromised defenses against infections are susceptible to pneumonia.