06.1 COPD

Question 1

What are the main types of COPD?

Answer 1

Emphysema

Chronic bronchitis

Question 2

What are potential causes of COPD?

Answer 2

Smoking
Occupational exposure
Alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency
Pollution

Question 3

What are general symptoms of COPD?

Answer 3

Cough and sputum

Breathlessness

Question 4

What can be used to assess how bad the breathlessness in a COPD patient is?

Answer 4

MRC dyspnoea score.

Question 5

What are potential signs of a COPD patient?

Answer 5

Purse lip breathing
Tachypnoea
Use of accessory muscles
Hyperinflation
Wheezing
Cyanosis
Cor pulmonale

Question 6

What are some of the pathological changes that occur in emphysema?

Answer 6

Destruction on alveoli
Small airways collapse due to lack of radial tension from alveoli
Surface area greatly reduced

Question 7

What are some of the pathological changes that occur in chronic bronchitis?

Answer 7

Loss of ciliated epithelium
Increase in the number of goblet cells
Hypertrophy of the submucosal glands

Question 8

How do you manage a COPD patient?

Answer 8

Smoking cessation
Educate the patient
Pneumococcal vaccination
Bronchodilators
Inhaled corticosteroid
Exercise
Low dose O2 to prevent pulmonary hypertension

Potential surgery to remove large bullae, volume reduction or transplant

Question 9

What is COPD?

Answer 9

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
COPD is characterised by airflow obstruction, the airflow obstruction is usually progressive, not fully reversible and does not change markedly over several months. Usually caused by smoking.