Respiration Flashcards
What is Asthma?
A chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways
What are the defining characteristics of asthma?
Susceptibility Variable airflow obstruction Chronic inflammatory process Reversibility Airway-hyperreposniveness
What are the symptoms of asthma?
Expiratory wheeze Cough Difficulty breathing Chest tightness Exercise induced wheeze Atopic history - allergies
What differentiates asthma and COPD?
- Airway obstruction in asthma is often reversible with bronchodilators(>15% improvement with treatment)
- Airway obstruction in COPD is not fully reversible (<15% improvement with treatment)
What should an asthma diagnoses be made on?
- History of characteristic symptom patterns
- Evidence of variable airflow limitation, from bronchodilator reversibility testing or other tests
What present with a severe asthma exacerbation?
Silent chest
What is the frequent finding on physical examination of asthmatic patient?
- Often normal
- Wheezing may be absent during severe asthma exacerbation
What are common triggers for asthma?
- Allergens
- Cold air
- Exercise
- Fumes
- Cigarette smoke
- Perfumes
- Chemicals
- Drugs
- Emotional distress
What cells primarily drive asthma?
TH2 cells
What are the main points in the pathophysiology of asthma?
- Presentation of antigen to T lymphocytes
- TH2 release cytokines which attract and activate inflammation cells including mast cells and eosinophils
- Activation of B cells occurs as well which produce IgE
- In a sensitised atopic asthmatic exposure to antigen results in a 2 phase response.
- Immediate response and Late phase response
What is the immediate response for asthma pathophysiology?
- Interaction of allergen and specific IgE antibodies
- Leads to mast cells
What is the late phase response?
- Type 4 hypersensitivity
- Involves inflammatory cells including eosinophils, mast cells, lymphocytes and neutrophils which release mediators and cytokines
- This causes airway inflammation
What is the result inflammatory cells in asthma on the bronchioles?
- Reduced airway calibre
- Mucosal swelling (oedema) due to vascular leak
- Thickening of bronchails wall due to inflammatory cell infiltration
- Mucus overproduction (sticky, thick, tenacious)
- Smooth muscle contraction
- Epithelium shed and incorporated into thick mucus
- Hyper responsiveness of the airway
What are the effect of long term poorly controlled asthma on the respiratory organs?
- Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of smooth muscle
- Hypertrophy of muccus glands
- Thickening of the basement membrane
What type of respiratory failure normally occurs in severe asthma attacks?
- Type 2 respiratory failure
- Hyperventilation cannot compensate due to extensive effect
What type of respiratory failure occurs in mild asthma?
- Type 1 respiratory failure
- Compensation of hyperventilation
What test are used to assess the condition of a patient with suspected asthma?
Airflow limitation - FEV1/FVC reduced
Variation in lung function greater than normal
Spirometry
What does spirometry in asthmatic patient show?
- FEV is reduced without the bronchodilator
- FEV increases with bronchodilator
- Scalloping reduces
How can eosinophilic inflammation be measured?
- Induced sputum
- Peripheral eosinophil count
- FeNO
What are the principles of asthma treatment?
- Patient education (SIMPLE)
- Drug treatment involves brochodilators (beta2) and steroids such as prednisone . Inhalers are used to deliver in aerosol form.
- Long acting reliever is prescribed with corticosteroid inhaler. B2 agonist is also given
How do we treat acute severe asthma?
- Oxygen, high flow –aim to keep O2 94-98% sat
- Nebulised salbutamol
- Oral prednisolone
- If moderate exacerbation not responding, or acute severe/life threatening, add nebulised ipratropium bromide
- Consider iv magnesium and/or iv aminophylline if no improvement and life-threatening features not responding to above treatment (BEWARE if taking oral theophylline)
What are the characterises of acute severe asthma?
- Respiratory rate >25
- Heart rate >110/min
- Inability to complete sentences in one breath
What are the features of life threatening asthma?
- Altered conscious level
- Exhaustion
- Arrthymia
- Hypotension
- Cyanosis
- Silent chest
- Poor respiratory effort
- PEF <33% best or predicted
- SpO2 <92%
- PaO2 <8 kPa
- Normal PaCO2
What is COPD
A disease state characterised by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible. It encompasses both emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
What is the aetiology of COPD?
- Tobacco(Smoking of 90% of cases
- Air pollution
- Occupational exposure
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
What are the pathological changes in COPD?
- Enlargement of mucus-secreting glands of the central airways,
- Increased number of goblet cells ( which replace ciliated respiratory epithelium)
- Ciliary dysfunction
- Breakdown of elastin leading to destruction of alveolar walls and structure, and loss of elastic recoil.
- Formation of larger air spaces with reduction in total surface area available for gas exchange
- Vascular bed changes leading to pulmonary hypertension.
What are the effects of the pathological changes in COPD?
-Progressive hypoxia leading to Cor Pulmonale
What is the pathophysiology of the COPD?
- Host repose to to inhaled cigarette or other noxious substances
- Chronic inflammation process and oxidative injury which affects central and peripheral airways, lung parenchyma, alveoli and pulmonary vasculature.
What are the symptoms of COPD?
- Cough that is productive of sputum
- Shortness of breath initially on exertion but can progress to at rest
What are the sign of COPD on physical examination?
- Tachypnoea
- Use of accessory muscles of respiration
- Barrel chest
- Hyper resonance on percussion
- Reduced intensity breath sounds
- Wheezing may be present
What are some late features of COPD?
- Central cyanosis
- Flapping tremors
- Signs of right sided heart failure second to pulmonary hypertension
What the specific features of emphysema?
- Elastin breakdown
- Loss of alveolar integrity
- Permanent destructive enlargement of the airspaces distal to terminal bronchioles
What are the specific feature of chronic bronchitis?
- Excessive mucus secretion
- Impaired removal of section due to ciliary dysfunction
- Chronic productive cough
- Chronic respiratory infections
What are some lung function tests in COPD?
- Spirometry (FEV1/FVC <70%)
- Chest X-ray show hyper inflated lungs
- Pulse oximetry
- ABG analysis
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin level checked
What is the management of COPD?
- Smoking cassation
- Bronochdilatos
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Long term oxygen management
- Surgical interventions
What vaccinations are recommended for COPD patients?
Pneumococcal vaccinations
How are patient with acute exacerbations of COPD managed?
- Montor for hypoxia and hypercapnia
- Appropriate antibiotics to account for pneumococcus and haemophilia influenza
- Nebulised bronchodilators
- Oral steroids
- 24 or 28% oxygen therapy
What are the complications of COPD?
- Recurrent pneumonia
- Peumothorax
- Repsiraroy failre
- Cor Pulmonale
What is bronchestaisis?
Bronchiectasis is the Chronic dilatation of one or more bronchi. The bronchi exhibit poor mucus clearance and there is predisposition to recurrent or chronic bacterial infection
What is the Gold standard diagnostic test for bronchiestasis?
High resolution CT
What are the symptoms of bronchiectasis?
- Chronic cough
- Daily sputum production
- Breathless on exertion
- Intermittent haemopytisis
- Nasal symtoms
- Chest pain
- Fatigue
What is the pathophysiology of bronchiestasis?
- Post infective
- Immune deficiency
- Genetic/Mucocilliary clearance defect
- Obstruction
- Toxic insult
What are the common organisms to cause bronchiestasis?
- Haemophilus influenza
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Moraxella catarrhalis
- Stenotrophomonas maltophilia
- Fungi (aspergillus, candida)
- Non-tuberculous mycobacteria
- Staph aureus (think about CF)
What is the management for bronchiestasis?
- Treat underlying cause
- Physiotherapy
- Antibiotics according to sputum cultures
- Supportive
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Management plan for infective exarcerbations
What is Cystic fibrosis?
CF is an autosomal recessive disease leading to mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR).
-No longer able to push chloride out of the cells
What is the pathophysiology and organs affected in Cystic fibrosis?
- Chromosome 7 defect
- Leads to Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) mutation
- Leads to ineffective cell surface chloride transport
- Leads to thick, dehydrated body fluids in organs which have CFTR (Mucus)
- Affects Pancreas, Skin, GI tract, Vas deferens, Lungs, Reproductive Organs.
What are the presentations of CF?
- Meconium Ileus (delay in passing first stool)
- Intestinal malabsorption
- Recurrent chest infections
- Newborn screening
How is CF diagnosis made?
Or a history of CF in a sibling
Or a positive newborn screening test result
And
-An increased sweat chloride concentration
(> 60 mmol/l) – SWEAT TEST
-Or identification of two CF mutations – genotyping
-Or demonstration of abnormal nasal epithelial ion transport (nasal potential difference)
What is the management of CF?
- Agressive therapy with respiratory infections with physic and antibiotics
- Monitoring of body weight
- Pancreatic enzyme supplements (Can present with distal intestinal obstruction syndrome)
How does distal intestinal obstruction syndrome present?
-Palpable right iliac fossa mass
Examples of lifestyle advice for CF patients
- No smoking
- Avoid other CF patients
- Avoid friends / relatives with colds / infections
- Avoid Jacuzzis (pseudomonas)
- Clean and dry nebulisers thoroughly
- Avoid stables, compost or rotting vegetation – risk of aspergillus fumigatus inhalation
- Annual influenza immunisation
- Sodium chloride tablets in hot weather/vigorous exercise
What is the microbiology of mycobacterium tuberculosis?
Non-motile rod shaped bacteria
Obligate aerobe
Long chain fatty acids, complex waxes and glycolipids in cell wall
Slow growth compared to others
Where are the regions affected by extra-pulmonary TB?
- Lymphadenitis (Scrofula, Cervical lymph nodes most commonly, Abscesses and sinuses)
- Gastrointestinal (Swallowing of tubercles)
- Peritoneal (Ascitis or adhesive)
- Genitourinary (Slow progression to renal disease, Subsequent spreading to lower urinary tract)
- Bone and joint (Haemotgenous spread, Spinal TB is most common, Potts disease)
- Tuberculous meningitis (Chronic headache, fevers, CSF – markedly raised proteins, lymphocytosis)
What is military TB?
Bacilli is spread through the blood stream
- Headaches suggest meningeal involvement
- Pericardial, pleural effusions small
- Ascites may be present
- Retinal involvement (choroid tubercles seen)
What is the transmission of TB?
- Spread by respiratory droplets –coughing, sneezing
- Droplet nuclei
- Suspended in air
- Reach lower airway
How easy is it to catch TB?
Contagious but not easy to acquire infection. Prolonged exposure to active TB individuals facilitates transmission
What is the pathogenesis of TB?
- Engulfed by alveolar macrophages
- Unique structure allows the TB bacteria to evade destruction by macrophages. Can survive and multiply within the macrophage
- TB bacilli from the macrophage can get carried to the lymph nodes during drainage
- Formation Primary complex (Ghon’s focus + draining lymph nodes)
- Minority (5%) – Can proceed to active disease after the primary complex. Primary TB develops
- Majority of patient – latent infection (95%). Containment of the infection to prevent the bacilli from multiplying. Live organism in the site of infection and lymph node
- Small number of latent infection patient can develop post primary. 2 years after the initial infection.
What is the effect of post primary TB?
Reactivation and hypersensitivity can occur. Massive destruction of the lung due to increased inflammatory response and bacterial damage. This can also occur with reexposure to the bacteria
What determine the formation of the primary complex?
- The infectious dose
- Strain of TB
- Immune response to the TB bacilli which depends on T cells to decide fate of primary complex (HIV)
Compare Latent Tb and Active TB.
Latent TB
- Inactive, contained tubercle bacilli in the body
- TST or IFN gamma test results usually positive.differentiate
- Chest X-ray usually normal
- Sputum smears and cultures negative
- No symptoms
- Not infectious
- Not a case of TB
Active TB
- Active, multiplying tubercle bacilli in the body
- TST or blood test results usually positive
- Chest X-ray usually abnormal
- Sputum smears and cultures may be positive
- Symptoms such as cough, fever, weight loss
- Often infectious before treatment
- A case of TB
Why doest the TST or IFN test differentiate between latent and active TB?
Both Latent and Active have Primary Complex so doesn’t differentiate between the two.
What are the histological features of Tuberculosis?
-Caseting granuloma is lung parenchyma and/or mediastinal lymph nodes
Where are the features of TB on an X-ray?
- Apex of the lung often involved
- Ill-defined paths consolidation
- Cavitatons usually develop with consolidation
- Healing results in fibrosis
How is a TB diagnosis established through investigations?
- Culture is the Gold standard technique
- NAAT
- Chromatography
How are antibiotics tested for effect on a micro-organism?
Drug sensitivity test
What are symptoms of TB?
- Night sweats
- Tiredness and malaise
- Weight loss and anorexia
- Fever
- Cough
- Haemoptysis occasionally
- Breathlessness if pleural effusion
What are the signs seen on examination for TB?
- Often no chest signs despite CXR abnormality
- Maybe crackles in affected area
In extensive disease
- Sings of cavitation
- Fibrosis
-Pleural involvement: typical signs of effusion
What is important about the history of a TB patient?
- Ethnicity
- Recent arrival or travel to high TB burden countries
- Contacts with TB
- BCG vaccination
- Specific clinical features
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Malaise
- Anorexia
What are the risk factors of TB?
- Non-UK born/recent migrants (South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa)
- HIV – latent infections can reactivate due to the immune system being affected
- People sustpected of TB are tested for HIV
- Other immunocompromised states
- Homeless
- Drug users, prison
- Close contacts
- Young adults
How are People suspected of TB managed?
- Early and adequate treatment
- Close monitoring of compliance to treatment (Direct observed therapy, Video observed therapy)
- Treatment for a long duration due to long duration of TB to multiply
What is the First line medication to treat TB?
- Rifampicin (orange pee)
- Isoniazid
- Pyrazinamide
- Ethambutol
2nd line
Quinolones
What is the BCG vaccination?
- Live attenuated M bovis strain
- Given to babies in high prevalence communities only (0-80% effectiveness)
- Protection wanes
- Little evidence in adults to work
Why is multi drug therapy used?
- The drugs are given for a long time so likely for mutations to occur and resistant strains to develop. Less chance of survival against all drugs of resistant strains which can cause a lot of damage
- Resistance can develop due to inadequate treatment or spontaneous mutation
How is TB transmission prevented?
Notification
- Triggers contact tracing to detect and treat cases and contacts to prevent transmission
- Provides surveillance data to detect outbreak and monitor epidemiological transmission
How is TB controlled in the population?
- Treatment of index case
- Reduces susceptible contacts by vaccinating or addressing risk factors
What are the risk factors for reactivation of latent TB?
- Infection with HIV
- Substance abuse
- Prolonged therapy with corticosteroids
- Other immunosuppressive therapy
- Organ transplant
- Haematological malignancy
- Severe kidney disease/haemodialysis
- Diabetes mellitus
- Silicosis
- Tumour necrosis factor alpha antagonists
What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is a general term denoting inflammation of the lung parenchyma due to infection.
What is lobar pneumonia?
Pneumonia localised to a particular lobe
What is bronchpneumonia?
Diffuse and patchy pneumonia
What are the common microbes that cause community acquired pneumonia?
- Streptococus pneumoniae
- Haemophilus influenzae
What are atypical organisms causing community acquired pneumonia?
- Legionella - contaminated water
- Mycoplasma
- Coxiella burnetti
- Chlamydia psittaci – exposure to birds
What are the organisms causing hospital acquired pneumonia?
- Haemophilus influenza
- Staphylococcus aureus
- Pseudomonas spp
- Acinetobacter baumanii
What is the pathophysiology of viral pneumonia
- Damage to cells lining the airways/alveoli by the virus and immune cells
- Gas exchanged is hindered by fluid
- Can be mild or severe
- Sevre viral pneumonia can lead to necrosis and haemorrhage
What is the appliance o viral pneumonia on a chest X-ray?
-Patchy and diffuse ground glass opacity on the X-ray
What are the symptoms of pneumonia?
- Malaise, Nausea and vomiting
- Fever
- Cough productive of sputum (purulent or rust coloured)
- Pleuritic chest pain
- Patients often feel breathless
- Rigors
What are the features of pneumonia on clinical examination?
- Tachycardia
- Tachypnoea
- Cyanosis
- Dullness to percussion, tactile vocal fremitus
- Bronchial breathing – Crackles
What are the investigations undertaken for patient suspected of pneumonia?
- Full blood count
- Urea and electrolytes
- C-reactive protein
- Arterial blood Gases
- Chest X-ray
Microbiological
-Sputum / Induced sputum
-Blood culture
-Broncho Alveolar Lavage fluid (BAL)
Nose and Throat swabs or NPAs (viruses)
-Urine (antigen test for legionella / pneumococcus)
-Serum (antibody test) acute and convalescent sera (usually collected at presentation and 10-14 days later)
What is used to assess severity of asthma?
CURB-65
C – New mental confusion
U – Urea > 7 mmol/L
R – Respiratory rate > 30 per minute
B – blood pressure (systolic BP < 90 or DBP <60 mmHg)
Age > 65 years
What are the aetiological features of pneumonia?
- Poor swallow (CVA, muscle weakness, alcohol)
- Abnormal ciliary function (smoking, viral infection)
- Abnormal mucus (cystic fibrosis)
- Dilated airways: bronchiectasis
- Defects in host immunity (HIV, Immunosuppression)
What are general measures for management of pneumonia?
- Maintain a good oral fluid intake to avoid dehydration.
- Anti-pyretic drugs- fever and malaise, together with stronger analgesics for pleural pain
- More severe illness may require intravenous fluids and oxygen.
What are the treatment measures for community acquired pneumonia?
- Target organism is Pneumococcus
- Amoxicillin or Doxycycline for Mild/Moderate pneumonia
- Co-amoxiclav and Doxycycline for Moderate/Severe
What is the treatment for hospital acquired pneumonia?
Hospital acquired pneumonia is more likely to be due to gram negative organisms
use antibiotics which would cover these organisms .
First line: IV Co-Amoxiclav
Second line: Meropenem
What drugs are used to treat atypical organism?
Erythromycin/clarithromycin) or tetracycline (doxycycline)
Why are people with TB checked for HIV?
Dysfunction in the immune system can result in the latent infection activating
What are preventative methods of pneumonia?
- Flu vaccine (annually given)
- Pneumococcal vaccine (5 yrs)
- Chemoprophylaxis – oral penicillin/erythromycin to patients with higher risk of LRT infections
- Smoking advice
What are some complications of pneumonia?
- Pleural effusion
- Empyema
- Lung abscess formation
What are the links between immunosuppression and lower trespiratory tract infection?
- HIV: PCP, TB, atypical mycobacteria
- Neutropenia: fungi e.g. Aspergillus spp
- Bone marrow transplant: CMV
- Splenectomy: encapsulated organisms –e.g. S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, malaria
What are common respiratory flora?
- Viridans streptoccic
- Neisseria spp
- Anerobes
- Candida sp
Less common
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- Streptococcus pyogens
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Psedomonas
- E.coli
What are muco-ciliary mechanisms for clearance of respiratory mucosa?
- Nasal hairs, ciliated columnar epithelium of the respiratory tract
- Cough and the sneezing reflex
- Respiratory mucosal immune system. Lymphoid follicles of the pharynx and tonsils, alveolar macrophages, secretary IgA and IgG
What are common upper respiratory infections?
- Rhinitis (common cold)
- Pharyngitis
- Epiglottis
- Laryngitis
- Tracheitis
- Sinusitis
- Otitis media
What are common viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract?
- Rhinovirus
- Coronavirus
- Influenza
- Parainfluenza Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
- Bacterial super-infection common with sinusitis and otitis media –can lead to mastoiditis, meningitis, brain abscess
How does aspiration pneumonia occur and how is it treated?
-Aspiration of exogenous material or endogenous secretions into respiratory tract
-Common in patients with neurological dysphasgia (epilepsy, alcoholics, drowning, strokes)
-Risk groups (nursing home residents, drug overdose)
-Mixed infection (viridans streptococci, anaerobes
Treat with Co-amoxiclav)
What is ventilation?
The process of inspiration and expiration
What is the tidal volume?
The volume of air which enters and leaves the lungs with each breath
Can the lungs be emptied completely?
No. Residual volume will remain
What is the physiological dead space?
Air in alveoli which are not perfused or are damaged do not take part in gas exchange, and ventilation of these alveoli are wasted
What are the lung capacities defined by?
Maximum inspiration
Maximum expiration
End of a quiet expiration
What is the volume of the conducting airways termed as?
Anatomical dead space
What is the equation for the total dead space?
Anatomical dead space + Physiological dead space
What is the equation for tidal volume?
Anatomical dead space + alveolar ventilation
What is the equation for total pulmonary ventilation?
Tidal volume X respiratory rate
What is the equation for the alveolar ventilation?
(Tidal volume - Dead space) X Respiratory rate
What is the inward force acting on the lung at rest?
The lung’s elasticity and surface tension generate an inwardly directed force that favours small lung volumes
What is the outward force acting on the lung at rest?
The muscles and various connective tissues associated with the rib cage also have elasticity. At rest these elastic elements favour outward movement of the chest wall.
What is the result of the inward and out ward force acting on the lung at rest?
They balance each other and create a negative pressure within the intrapleural space relative to atmospheric pressure
How does inspiration occur?
- Contraction of the diaphragm and the external intercostal muscles expands the thoracic cavity outward from equilibrium position
- Pleural seal ensure that the lungs expand along with the thorax.
- Lung volume increase so air pressure within the lungs fall below atmospheric pressure. Air flows into the lungs
What happens in (quiet) expiration?
- Muscle contraction ceases
- Elastic recoil of the lung results in the thoracic cavity and lung returning to the original position
- Passive process
What ensures that the chest wall and lung move together?
-Surface tension due to fluid lining the pleural space which holds the outer surface of the lungs to the inner surface of the chest wall. This ensure that the chest wall and lungs move together.
What happens to the intrapleural pressure during inspiration?
The intrapleural pressure becomes more negative and returns to resting pressure at the end of quiet expiration
What are the muscle of quiet inspiration?
- Diaphragm
- External Intercostal muscles
What muscles are involved in quiet expiration?
None!
Due to elastic recoil
Which muscles are involved in forced inspiration?
Accessory muscles of inspiration.
- Sternocleidomastoid
- Scalene
- Serratus anterior
- Pectoralis major
What muscles are used in forced expiration
- Internal intercostal muscles
- Abdominal wall muscles
What is the stretchiness of the lung known as?
Compliance
What is compliance defined as?
Volume change per unit pressure change
What contributes to the elastic properties of the lung?
- Elastic tissue in the lungs
- Surface tension forces of fluid lining the alveoli
What is contained in the alveolar lining fluid?
Surfactant
What is the purpose of surfactant?
- Reduce surface tension thereby increasing lung compliance
- Stabilise the lungs by preventing small alveoli collapsing into big ones
- Prevents the surface tension in alveoli creating a suction force tending to cause transudation fluid from pulmonary
How does surfactant increase surface tension as the alveolus expands?
Surfactant molecules spread further apart making them less efficient
How does surfactant decrease the surface tension as the area of the alveolus decreases?
Surfactant molecules comes closer together increasing their concentration and act more efficiently thereby reducing the surface tension
What is the effect of the increase in concentration of surfactant in the smaller alveoli?
The force required to expand smaller alveoli is therefore less than that required to expand the large one
What would happen between the different sized alveoli if the surface tension was constant?
-Smaller alveoli would have a higher pressure within it.
-Therefore if two unequaled size alveoli were connected by an airway the smaller alveolus would empty into the larger alveolus due to having a higher pressure
Law of Laplace
What would happens to the surface area for gas exchange if the surface tension was a constant in the variable alveolus sizes?
- The smaller alveoli would collapse into larger alveoli to from huge air filled spaces
- Combined surface area of a few large bubbles would be much less than combined surface area of thousands of small alveoli
- Surface area for gas exchange would decrease
What is the effect of surfactant on the alveoli as the size increases?
As the alveolus expands the surface tension and the radius increase as well.
What is the effect of surfactant on the alveolus as the size decreases?
As the alveolus shrinks
- Radius decreases
- Surface tension reduces
What is the overall effect of surfactant?
Different sized alveoli can have the same pressure within them. This stabilises the lungs preventing small alveoli collapsing into big ones.
What is respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn?
Condition usually seen in premature babies particularly those less than 30 weeks old due to lack of surfactant.
-Without surfactant, surface tension of alveolar sacs is high so increases tendency of the alveoli to collapse.
What is the treatment for RDS?
- Surfactant replacement via endotracheal tube
- Supportive treatment with oxygen and assisted ventillation
What are the sign of RDS in the babies?
- Cyanosis
- Grunting
- Intercostal and subcostal recessions
What is the question for the minute ventilation?
Tidal volume X Breaths per minute
How do you calculate the tidal volume entering the gas exchange region of the lung?
Resting tidal volume - Amount in anatomical deadspace
What is alveolar ventilation?
Respiratory frequency X volume available for gas exchange
Where in the bronchial tree is the main site of airways resistance?
The upper respiratory tract
-Although resistance increases sharply with lower radius the combined cross sectional area of the bronchioles is a lot bigger than the cross sectional area of the trachea.
What are different mechanism for increased airways resistance?
- Increased mucus (Chronic bronchitis)
- Hypertrophy of the smooth muscle, and/or oedema (Asthma)
- Loss of radial traction (Emphysema)
What is the equation for resistance?
Pressure/Flow=Resistance
Resistance is also directly proportional to 1/r^4
Small change in r makes a big difference in resistance
Why do lungs collapse when air enter the pleural cavity?
Lack of negative pressure in the pleural cavity so the lungs aren’t held against the thoracic wall so they collapse
How can damage to the intercostal vessels and nerves be avoided during procedure requiring insertion into the pleural space?
The costal groove runs underneath each rib so inserting into the lower border of the intercostal space or inserting into superior border of the rib
Explain why lack of surfactant causes difficulty breathing?
- Increased surface tension so alveolar walls held closer together
- Smaller alveoli are not able to expand as well due to increased pressure
- Bigger alveoli will expand
- Higher volume in the thorax is need to lower the pressure in the alveoli
Why is there indrawing of intercostal spaces during respiration?
- Active contraction of external intercostal muscle in order to pull the thoracic wall upwards which will increase volume.
- Pressure decreases as result
- Indrawing is the presence of the active contraction
How does fibrosis affect compliance?
Reduced compliance
How does emphysema affect compliance of the lungs?
Increased compliance
What is the ideal gas equation?
PV=nRT
What is Boyle’s law?
Pressure in a gas is inversely proportional to its volume
What is the total partial pressure exerted in a mixture of gases equal to?
The sum of the partial pressure of the individual gases
What is composition of atmospheric air?
20.9% = Oxygen 78% = Nitrogen 0.03% = CO2
How do gases diffuse in the body?
Down the partial pressure gradient
What happens when gas molecules come into contact with body fluids?
- Gas molecule will enter the fluid to dissolve
- The water molecules evaporate to enter air
What is the saturated vapour pressure at body temperature?
6.28 kPa
What happens to inhaled air in the upper respiratory tract?
Saturated with water
How does water vapour affect the partial pressure of other gases at 101 kPa?
101-6.28
The use the normal ratios
When is the equilibrium of gases established in a fluid?
Rate of gas molecules entering water = rate of gas molecules leaving the water
What is occurring at equilibrium of gas in fluid?
Partial pressure of the gas in the liquid = partial pressure gas in the air above it
Partial pressure is the same as the amount of dissolved gas. True/False. Why?
False
Amount of gas dissolved = Partial pressure X solubility coefficient of gas
When is partial pressure established if there is a component of liquid that the gas reacts with?
Partial pressure is established after the gas reacts with component
What happens when oxygen encounters plasma?
- Enters plasma and dissolves in it
- Dissolved oxygen enter red blood cells to bind to Hb
- Process continues till Hb fully saturated
- After Hb is fully saturated, oxygen continues to dissolve until the equilibrium is established
- At equilibrium pO2 of plasma=pO2 of alveolar air
What happens to the dissolved oxygen in plasma when it encounters tissues?
It is available to diffuse into tissues and is replaced by the oxygen bound to haemoglobin
Why does alveolar air equilibrate with the blood air?
There is constantly gas moving out and into the alveolus. Oxygen move into the blood stream constantly .
What happens to the atmospheric pressure and gases at high altitudes?
- The atmospheric pressure is lower
- There are fewer molecules of gas.
What happens to pressure as you dive further into the sea?
The pressure increase dramatically
Pressure below sea level = Atmospheric pressure+weight of water
What is decompression sickness in divers?
- Nitrogen moves from high pressure in the lungs into the blood during a dive
- A slow return to the surface lets the nitrogen return to the lungs where it is breathed out
- A quick return doesn’t give the nitrogen enough time to leave the blood so instead it can form painful bubbles
What are the features of oxygen binding?
- Reaction has to be reversible
- Oxygen must dissociate at the tissue to supply them
- Oxygen combines reversibly
What are 2 examples of oxygen binding pigments?
- Haemoglobin: Tetramer to bind 4 oxygen molecules
- Myoglobin: binds 1 oxygen molecule
What is myoglobin?
- Pigment found in muscles
- Contains 1 subunit of haem
Why is myoglobin not a good carrier of oxygen?
It will not give up oxygen at the tissues due having a high affinity for oxygen even at low partial pressure. It acts as a storage molecule that will give up oxygen if the oxygen in the tissue gets very low. Also acts as a pigment for the muscle giving it the red appearance
What is the structure of haemoglobin?
- Tetramer consisting of 2 alpha and 2 beta subunits
- Each subunit has a haem group and a globin group
- 4 oxygen molecules bind to each molecule of haemoglobin
What are the forms of haemoglobin?
- Low affinity T state
- High affinity R state
What happens to haemoglobin when the pO2 is low?
The haemoglobin shift to the low affinity T state so it is harder for the first O2 molecule to bind