Asthma Flashcards
What are 3 important questions to ask during an asthma annual review?
- In the last month/week have you had difficulty sleeping because of your asthma (including cough, SOB)?
- Have you had your usual asthma symptoms (cough, SOB, chest tightness, wheeze) during the day?
- Has your asthma interfered with your usual daily activities?
What are the characteristics of vesicular breathing?
- Normal sound on most of the lung
- Soft
- Low pitch
- Inspiration longer than expiration
- No gap between both phases
What are the characteristics of bronchial breathing?
- Abnormal in majority of lung that is far from main airways
- Loud and tubular quality
- High pitched
- Inspiratory and expiratory phases equal
- Definite gap between both phases
In what conditions is bronchial breathing heard?
- Consolidation
- Lobar Collapse with patent bronchus
- Lung Cavity
(Think “3Cs”)
What are the characteristics of a wheeze?
- Continuous and musical quality
- Expiratory usually
- Indicates narrowing of airways either due to bronchospasm or secretions in small airways
- Low pitch or high pitch
- High pitch polyphonic or monophonic
When is a high pitch wheeze heard?
Due to smaller airways narrowing in bronchospasm (i.e. asthma)
When is a low pitch wheeze heard?
When smaller airways narrow due to secretions (i.e. chronic bronchitis)
When is a polyphonic wheeze heard?
When there is variable degree of bronchospasm (i.e. asthma) and is more commonly heard
When is a monophonic wheeze heard?
When there’s a localized obstruction
What are the characteristics of crackles?
- Interrupted and non-musical quality
- Inspiratory usually
- Peripheral airway collapse on expiration due to interstitial fibrosis or secretions/fluid
- During inspiration, rapid air entry abruptly opens these collapsed smaller airways + alveoli producing a crackling noise
What conditions have the following crackles:
- Early inspiration
- Mid-inspiration
- End-inspiration
- Biphasic
- Small airway disease (i.e. bronchiolitis)
- Pulmonary oedema
- Pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary oedema, COPD, resolving pneumonia, lung abscess, tuberculous lung cavities
- Bronchiectasis
What are the conditions that produce fine crackles?
- Bronchiolitis
- Pulmonary oedema
- Pulmonary fibrosis
What are the conditions that produce coarse crackles?
- COPD
- Bronchiectasis
- Resolving pneumonia
- Lung abscess
- Tuberculous lung cavities
What are the characteristics of pleural rub?
- Caused by inflammation of the visceral and/or parietal pleura
- Low pitched/grating sound
- Heard in inspiration when visceral and parietal pleura slide over one another
What conditions do you get pleural rub in?
- Consolidation
- Pulmonary infarction (i.e. PE)
- Uremia
List 5 conditions, other than asthma, where you can hear a wheeze on auscultation
- COPD
- Pulmonary disease
- Cardiac failure
- Eosinophilic lung disease
- Foreign body aspiration
What should you recommend for patients with exercise-induced asthma?
Take their bronchodilator (short-acting B2 agonist - salbutamol) inhaler with them and use it just before exercise to prevent an attack
Why it is particularly important to have the flu vaccination when you have asthma? What other vaccinations would you recommend for patients with chronic asthma?
Flu can be more serious for people with asthma, even if their asthma is mild or their symptoms are well-controlled by medication. This is because people with asthma have swollen and sensitive airways, and influenza can cause further inflammation of the airways and lungs. Influenza infection in the lungs can trigger asthma attacks and a worsening of asthma symptoms. It also can lead to pneumonia and other acute respiratory diseases.
A one-off vaccination against Pneumococcal disease is also recommended
Define the term peak expiratory flow rate
The maximal rate that a person can exhale during a short maximal expiratory effort after a full inspiration
How do you predict someone’s peak flow?
Calculated using the patient’s sex and height
How do you record serial readings of peak flow and for how long?
For diagnosis 2-4 weeks, twice daily (NICE 2017)
For Occupational Asthma it may require 2-4 hourly reading over several weeks
What on the peak flow chart would indicate asthma that is well-managed?
Less variation between peaks and trough levels
What are asthma triggers?
- Cold weather
- Allergies
- Smoke, pollen, pollution, mould/damp
- Atopic (combo of eczema, hayfever + asthma)
- Cold/flu (chest infections)
- Medicines (i.e. NSAIDs, aspirin)
- Emotions (laughter, stress)
- Exercise
- Occupational asthma
What is the pathophysiology of asthma?
- Submucosal gland hypertrophy + hyperplasia
- Goblet cells metaplasia -> more mucus production
- Infiltration by eosinophils + neutrophils
- Oedema
- Smooth muscle hypertrophy + hyperplasia
- Thickening of basement membrane
- Epithelial desquamation