Pneumonia - Community-Acquired Differential Diagnosis

Differential Diagnosis

Other conditions that may be considered in patients presenting with cough and dyspnea (with or without pulmonary infiltrates) include: 

• Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Congestive heart failure with pulmonary edema 
• Malignancies (eg lung cancer)
• Non-infective consolidative processes of the lungs
• Interstitial lung diseases (eg hypersensitivity pneumonitis, sarcoidosis, asbestosis) 
• Pleuritis
• Pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hemorrhage
• Atelectasis
• Aspiration of a foreign body or chemical pneumonitis 
• Acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis 
• Bronchiolitis

There are also other respiratory illnesses that may occur with or exacerbate community-acquired pneumonia. This includes acute exacerbations of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute bronchitis, and respiratory viral infections including influenza.