PBL 3 - managing respiratory disease Flashcards
what are 5 symptoms of respiratory disease?
- dyspnoea
- cough
- chest pain
- wheeze/stridor
- haemoptysis
how is dyspnoea diagnosed?
- speed of onset
- timing of breathlessness
- PND (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea) - positional breathless
- orthopnoea (lying flat), platypnoea (sitting forward) - severity
- MRC dyspnoea scale - personal and family history
- occupational and environment
- travel
- medication (illicit drugs)
- smoking
causes of instantaneous dyspnoea
- pneumothorax
- pulmonary embolism
- asthma
causes of gradual (days) dyspnoea
- pleural effusion (fluid around lung in pleural space)
- lobar collapse
- SVC obstruction
causes of acute (mins —> hours) dyspnoea
- pulmonary embolism
- pneumonia
- LVF (heart failure)
causes of chronic (months —> years) dyspnoea
- COPD
- bronchiectasis
- pulmonary fibrosis
describe cough assessment
- onset and duration — acute and chronic (>8 weeks)
- sputum production — volume
- sputum character — colour, smell, consistency
- cough character — bovine, barking, whoop
- associated features — eg. impaired cough effort
pleuritic vs visceral pain
- pleuritic pain is in relation to breathing pattern
- visceral pain is a more consistent gnawing pain
what is haemoptysis?
coughing up blood — non specific feature of respiratory disease
- 60-80% infective (TB, pneumonia, bronciectasis), pulmonary embolus
- 10-20% malignant
- no cause identified in up to 30%
what is a wheeze?
a noisy musical sounds from turbulent flow through the airways
what can a silent chest indicate?
severe acute asthma
what is stridor?
coarse inspiratory wheeze caused by laryngeal or large airway obstruction
what is the cardinal test to diagnose COPD?
FEV1
is COPD non-progressive or progressive?
progressive condition
what is important to note when taking a history for COPD?
- exertional breathlessness
- chronic productive cough
- wheeze