cough Flashcards
what is a cough?
a cough is a useful physiological mechanism that serves to clear the respiratory passage of foreign materials and excess secretions
what triggers a cough?
Cough is triggered by stimulation of airway cough receptors, either by irritants or by conditions that cause airway distortion.
is a cough voluntary or involuntary?
can be either- usuallty involuntray
should a cough be suppressed?
no but it may be difficult to live with- give treatment then
what is the role of the skin in a cough?
top layer of the skin has airways- cilia to help clear mucous from airways
layer of epithelia and goblet cells which help produce mucous
mast cells important for defence
how do we clasify a cough?
the length of time someone has a cough
less than 3 weeks- acute
3-8weeks -subacute
8+ weeks- chronic
what are the types of acute cough?
infectious- viral/acute bronchitis/ penumonia/ covid 19
non-infectious-chf/ exacerbations of COPD
what would be seen in a sub- acute cough?
post infectious
acei
what would cause a chronic cough?
UACS -Upper airway cough syndrome (post-nasal drip)
•Asthma/COPD
•NAEB –Non-asthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis
•GORD
•Smoking
what are the 3 components of a cough reflex?
afferent sensory limb (of the vagusnerve)
–central processing centre(the medulla)
–efferent limb
what do the stimuli that stimulate cough reflex do?
stimulate sensory nerve fibres that have been divided broadly into three main groups:
–Aδ-fibres (rapidly adapting stretch receptors (RARs)
–C-fibres
–slowly adapting stretch receptors (SARs)
what are Aδfibres?
Rapidly adapting receptors (RARs) are myelinated fibres that terminate within the epithelium throughout the intrapulmonary airways
what do Ad fibres respond to?
They respond to changes in airway mechanics to regulate normal breathing
•These fibres fire in response to most ‘tussive’ stimuli and their stimulation is of key importance in the elicitation of the cough reflex
what are Ad fibres activity increased by?
In general, their activity is increased by mechanical stimuli such as mucus secretion or oedema
what do C-fibers do?
They are unmyelinated and respond to chemical stimuli egirritation such as acid, chemicals you inhale, or inflammation from prostaglandins, bradykinin, histamines
•They also respond to mechanical stimuli
what do SARS do?
Slowly Adapting Receptor activity is not altered by stimuli that evoke cough, and these fibres are not believed to be directly involved in the cough reflex
•However, they might facilitate the cough reflex via interneurons, which are believed to either permit or augment the cough reflex as a result of RAR activity
how does a central integration of a cough reflex work?
Many sensory afferent fibre types contribute to/modulate the cough reflex
•Their signals integrate at the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) found in the dorsal medulla
•Here, both pulmonary and extrapulmonary (from other vagally innervated organs) afferent fibres terminate and send polysynaptic input to second-order neurons
•These second-order neurons probably alter the activity of the respiratory neurons responsible for normal breathing to produce cough
•Each of these synapses in this ‘cough network’ is a potential target for centrally acting antitussives