Inflammation (Acute vs Chronic)

Inflammation is the body's protective, nonspecific response to injury or infection, with five cardinal signs: redness, heat, swelling, pain and loss of function. Systemic inflammation adds fever, malaise, fatigue, anorexia and leukocytosis. It is not the same as infection: a sprain, burn, gout flare or MI inflames with no pathogen, so antibiotics do not treat inflammation itself. Acute inflammation is sudden, lasts days and usually resolves, while chronic inflammation lasts weeks or longer and causes tissue damage and scarring, as in rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. WBC rises with acute inflammation, a left shift suggests acute bacterial infection, CRP moves fast and ESR moves slowly, and both show only that inflammation is present. Corticosteroids, immunosuppression, older age and neutropenia can hide the usual signs, so the nurse reports small changes and treats any fever in neutropenia as urgent. Report spreading redness, red streaking, purulent drainage, fever or worsening pain.