Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Infektexazerbation
English translation:
infection-induced exacerbation
German term
Infektexazerbation
It is a discharge report for a US patient who suffered an "Infekt" while skiing in the Swiss Alps in January 2020.
He visited a local ER and the Swiss doc wrote this for the dg:
Infektexazerbation bei V.a. COPD
His O2 saturation on ambient air: 87%
Relevant history: Travelled from USA to Switzerland via London 7 days prior to presentation.
CRP high (13), WBC and other parameters normal.
Therapy in ER: oxygen, pt. responded very well
Just as an aside before I get to my question: Are you thinking what I am thinking??? Corona in EU already in January. Low saturation, 7-day incubation. Hmm...
Anyways, let's proceed to my linguistic Q.
Literally, it says "Infection exacerbation associated with suspected COPD".
That doesn't make sense to me, though. Although that is what the German says, I think (but need a clinician's confirmation) that it is not the infection that was exacerbated in a patient with COPD, but a suspected COPD exacerbated by infection or, rather, a flu-like illness. Am I right? How do you read it?
I am querying two issues in particular:
1. First, am I right about the above that it's not worsening of infection?
2. The term "Infekt" in German. As far as I know, it does not mean "infection" as it is used in English, but rather a flu-like illness, meaning that "Infekt" -- as it is somewhat colloquially termed -- indicates a viral etiology. Am I right?
My dg would read: Suspected COPD exacerbated by a flu-like illness
My concern is that it's not an overtranslation, though.
I think that the Swiss doc did no express it very accurately, but how do I deal with it? Do I improve on it, or just go with the literal translation risking that the US doc will think the translator was inept?
Thanks for reading this!!
| 3 +1 | infection-induced exacerbation |
Anne Schulz
|
| 4 | Suspected COPD exacerbated by a flu-like illness |
Renee Kulkarni MD
|
Nov 6, 2020 04:32: Lirka Created KOG entry
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Proposed translations
infection-induced exacerbation
As the colleagues said, exacerbations may be triggered by bacterial as well as viral infections, and a specific translation is therefore not feasible.
Where I worked, German medicalese used to call a mild, unspecific, usually viral infection such as a common cold or a flu-like illness an "Infekt", whereas the term "Infektion" referred to more severe or specific infections. However, this distinction seems to have long gone. Today the word "Infekt" does not automatically infer a mild, unspecific disease.
| Thanks, Anne, for checking in and providing the info I was looking for!! |
India
Experienced doctor-linguist
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK) 
Works in: German to English
Suspected COPD exacerbated by a flu-like illness
I think the literal translation would be wide off the mark.
And yes, I also have reason to believe Covid was in our midst in India as early as January this year :/
Discussion
Many thanks also go to Marga who provided excellent references that cleared the issue even further.
Last but not least, Anne - the one I am always hoping would check in and provide that special insight only a German-native clinician with nuance understanding of the German medical jargon and longstanding hands-on experience can contribute!
Thank you all once again! (wow, this felt like an Oscar speech)
Tritt bei Menschen, die an Asthma oder COPD leiden, ein Atemwegsinfekt auf, so stellt dies eine Exazerbation (auch Infektexazerbation genannt) dar. Der Schweregrad der Exazerbation wird aktuell anhand der erforderlichen Intervention ermittelt.14 Helfen sich die Betroffenen selbst, beispielsweise mit rezeptfrei erhältlichen Präparaten oder durch vermehrte Anwendung der Bedarfsmedikation, so ist die Definition einer leichten Exazerbation erfüllt.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:q0lX9l...
"Exazerbation einer chronisch obstruktiven Lungenerkrankung" (COPD) bezeichnet eine oft durch Viren oder Bakterien bedingte Verschlechterung einer COPD mit Verfärbung des Auswurfs, Husten und Luftnot; auch "Infektexazerbation" genannt (die Leitkeime sind Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae und Moraxella catarrhalis)
https://www.copd-deutschland.de/informationen/43-information...
HTH a bit
Aktuell: Infekt-Exazerbation einer chronisch obstruktiven Lungenerkrankung (COPD). Streifige Zeichnungsvermehrung (Röntgen-Thorax). Antibiotische Therapie mit xxx von xxx bis xxx. The Infekt mentioned in the report I translated was bacterial (not viral!) and was treated with Ampicillin/Sulbactam AND Azithromycin at the same time. The doctors treating the patient believe he had pneumonia. The antibiotic therapy resulted in a decrease of the clinical symptoms as well as the inflammatory parameters in the lab tests.
I translated the Infekt-Exazerbation einer chronisch obstruktiven Lungenerkrankung (COPD) as: Exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to infection