Conditions to be aware of

Question 1

COPD- What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 1

• Chronic lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties
• Includes emphysema (damage to air sacs) and chronic bronchitis (long-term inflammation of the airways)
  Symptoms: SOB, persistent cough with phlegm, wheezing

Question 2

Pneumonia - What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 2

• Inflammation of the lungs
  Symptoms: cough with phlegm, SOB, wheezing, chest pain, high temp
• There will be sputum/fluid in alveoli (consolidation)

Question 3

Coronary heart disease - What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 3

• The heart’s blood supply becomes blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries
  Symptoms: Chest pain (angina), and breathlessness

Question 4

Pulmonary Fibrosis- What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 4

• An interstitial lung disease
• It is where there is scarring of the lungs which makes it difficult for the person to breath
• This is because the scarring makes the tissues in the lungs thick and harder to absorb oxygen into the blood stream
  Symptoms: SOB, dry cough, shallow breathing, clubbing, fatigue

Question 5

Bronchiectasis- What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 5

• Usually brought on by another condition
• Condition where the lung bronchi’s become permanently damaged and widened.
• This means the bronchi aren’t able to effectively clear mucus, causing it to build up and increasing risk of further infections
  Symptoms: Coughing up yellow or green mucus, SOB, fatigue, clubbing, wheezing when breathing

Question 6

Osteoporosis - What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 6

• Bone disease that develops when bone mineral density and bone mass decreases or when the structure or quality of bone changes
• This impacts the person by leading to a decrease in bone strength which increases fracture risk
  Symptoms: called a ‘silent’ disease. until a bone is broken and then investigations take place

Question 7

Chest trauma/ fractured rib - What is it? Symptoms?

Answer 7

• Rib fractures can occur either from direct penetrating (object piercing the skin) or blunt trauma (falls or attack with a dull object)
• The most worrying complication is the flail chest which is two or more continuous rib fractures with two or more breaks per rib.
  Symptoms of rib fracture: Pain in chest area, pain and difficulty when breathing, potential development of chest infection if unable to cough

Question 8

Hernia repair/ emergency laparotomy - What is it? Where is the incision? What issues may this cause?

Answer 8

A hernia is when weak spots or tears develop in the abdominal wall, resulting in contents of the abdomen pushing through forming a lump
- Inguinal hernia, femoral hernia, umbilical hernia
- A hernia repair surgery aims to replace the internal organs to their normal position and to repair the weakness in the muscle and body wall
Issues post surgery: pain (making it harder to mobilise and cough to move secretions),