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Growing up, pneumonia always felt like one of those illnesses that came out of nowhere. A bad cold. A lingering cough. And suddenly, things turned serious. In this episode of Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine, we take the mystery out of pneumonia with Dr. Neville Berkman, head of the Pulmonary Institute at the Hadassah Medical Organization.
Dr. Berkman starts with the basics, explaining that pneumonia is not just another respiratory infection but an infection of the lung tissue itself, where oxygen exchange happens.
“The definition of pneumonia is more where the infection or inflammation is, rather than what the cause is,” he explains, distinguishing it from bronchitis or the flu.
While far fewer healthy young people die from pneumonia today, Dr. Berkman reminds us that it remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The difference is who is most at risk.
“Pneumonia is still probably the commonest cause of death worldwide. It’s just the people who die of pneumonia have changed,” he says, pointing to older adults, young children and people with chronic or immune-related illnesses.
We also tackle long-standing myths about cold weather, lifestyle risk factors like smoking and nutrition, early warning signs that should send you to the doctor and why antibiotics are still often prescribed without identifying a specific cause. Dr. Berkman explains why shorter courses of simpler antibiotics are now preferred and how vaccines for flu, pneumococcus and RSV are quietly saving lives.
Further Learning:
- Listen to Dr. Berkman's previous appearance on Hadassah on Call - Post-COVID Health Issues and Life After the Pandemic
- Hadassah Opens Follow-Up Clinic for Recovered COVID-19 Patients
- Hadassah Clinic Tackles Lingering Effects of COVID-19
- [Hadassah On Call Podcast] COVID's Long-Term Health Impact, an Insider's Perspective
Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine is a production of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America. Hadassah enhances the health of people around the world through medical education, care and research innovations at the Hadassah Medical Organization. For more information on the latest advances in medicine, please head over to hadassah.org.
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Our recent episode, To Your Health: The Best of Hadassah On Call. If you are enjoying this episode, you’ll want to check out our previous episode, To Your Health: The Best of Hadassah On Call. In this special best-of edition, we revisit the Hadassah moments from Below the Belt: Prostate Matters featuring Dr. Ofer Gofrit, Ageless Intimacy featuring Dr. Anna Wolinski Wruble, Unpacking Trauma featuring Dr. Shiri Ben David, Navigating the Autism Spectrum featuring Dr. Ariel Tenenbaum and Small Patients, Big Emergencies featuring Dr. Saar Hashavya. Each of these episodes offered powerful insights and heartfelt stories, but most of all, practical and expert advice. You can find that episode of Hadassah On Call on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or wherever you get your podcast. Or on the web at hadassah.org/hadassahoncall.
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For the past six seasons, our listeners have heard about the incredible work Hadassah doctors are doing. We've explored how they are closing in on a cure for cancer, examined the common causes of something as simple as a headache, investigated a possible cure for allergies and even provided a glimpse into how Hadassah hospitals are helping the most severely wounded patients — and their families — who are still healing from the October 7, 2023, terror attacks and the subsequent war with Hamas.
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