Respiratory Flashcards
In what groups is the prevalence of childhood asthma higher?
- low birthweight
- family history, male
- bottle fed, pollution, atopy
- past lung disease
Diagnosis of asthma in children is done using:
spirometry (<70%) and bronchodilator reversibility test (12% FEV1 increase is +)
Asthma management in children uses stepwise approach, Go up if using reliever >3xweek and down when completely controlled for x months.
3 months
What are the steps in paediatric asthma control (on top of a SABA reliever inhaler):
1)
2)
3)
4)
5) daily oral steroid, ICS and refer to specialist
1) ICS e.g. beclomethasone or LTRA (not in under 5)
2) ICS+LABA combined e.g. Seretide or ICS + LTRA
3) If no response to LABA, stop LABA and increase ICS dose
- If mild LABA response, continue but increase ICS dose or trial LTRA
4) increase ICS more or consider 4th drug e.g. theophylline and refer to specialist
What can LTRAs for asthma in children under 5 cause?
-hyperkinesia and behavioural problems
How can you treat an asthma exacerbation in an infant?
-treat early with rescue prednisolone for 5 days (30-40mg/day if 5yrs+ or 20mg/day if 2-5yrs)
What is involved in the general management of paediatric asthma (hollistic)
- annual symptom review
- time of school/nursery
- check inhaler/spacer use and adherence
- make a personalised self-management plan
- advice re: smoking risk
- monitor growth charts
Treating acute severe asthma:
- sit up, high flow O2, maintain sats 94%+
- give salbulamol 5mg (2.5mg if <5yrs) and __ 250mcg +/- __ all O2 nebulised every __ mins for __ hour
- give __4mg/kg/6hr IV or 2mg/kg __ for 3 days
- consider 1 IV dose of __ 40mg/kg over 20mins as 1st IV therapy if nebuliser response is poor
- consider starting CPAP, discuss with seniors
- ipratropium bromide
- magnesium sulphate
- every 20mins for 1 hour
- hydrocortisone, prednisolone
- IV magnesium sulphate
What are very worrying signs in acute severe asthma?
- confused, tiring, silent chest
- sats <92% after Rx, high CO2
Before discharge from acute severe asthma what should you ensure (3+)
- stable on 4hrly bronchodilators
- peak flow >75% predicted
- good inhaler technique
- written management plan
- follow up GP in 2days and paeds asthma clinic in 2 months if life-threatening episode
Moderate asthma = PEFR – % predicted
Acute Severe = PEFR –% predicated
Near fatal = PEFR –% predicated, sats
- moderate = 50-70%
- acute severe= 33-50%, increased RR and HR
- near fatal= <33%resp acidosis/needed mechanical ventilation, <92%sats, silent chest..hypotension..
Croup is typically fever and coryza followed by what symptoms and why?
- hoarseness (due to infalmm. vocal cords)
- barking cough (due to tracheal oedema & collapse
- difficult breathing, symptoms worse at night
Croup causing chest recession at rest can be treated with the first line therapy of ___ which decreases the need for hospitalisation, severity and duration of croup.
-oral or nebulised steroids
In severe upper airway obstruction from croup, nebulised ___ with oxygen can transiently improve things, watch closely over next few hours as effects wear off.
-adrenaline
Why are young children prone to AOM?
-Eustachian tubes are short, horizontal and function poorly
What should every child presenting with a fever have checked?
-their tympanic membranes (rule out AOM)
What are the findings on otoscopy of a child with AOM?
-tympanic membrane is bright red, bulging and loss of the normal light reflection +/- perforation and puss in external canal
Name 3 common causative organisms of AOM in children:
- RSV, rhinovirus
- pneumococcus, H. influenzae, Moraxella Catarrhalis
Most widely used Abx to treat AOM that hasn’t self-resolved, is__
Amoxicillin
If a child with glue ear is treated once with grommets but these fail, what is the next option.. x with adjuvant ..
-reinsert grommets with adjuvant adenoidectomy
What age group does bronchiolitis most commonly affect?
1-9months (affects children <2yrs)
What pathogen causes most cases of bronchiolitis? And this with which virus co-infection may cause a more severe disease?
RSV
+human metapneumovirus
What are symptoms of bronchiolitis, for what reason are most children admitted?
- coryzal symptoms followed by dry cough and increasing breathlessness
- feeding difficulty due to dyspnoea –> admission
Name 2 pre-disposing risk factors for the development of bronchiolitis?
- premature infants w bronchopulmonary dysplasia
- CF/underying lung disease
- congential heart disease
What would you be concerned about in a child with: dry wheezy cough, high-pitched wheeze, tachypnoea, tachycardia… and what would you expect on chest exam? NB: liver may be displaced down
Bronchiolitis
- O/E: subcostal and intercostal recession
- hyperinflation of chest
- fine end-inspiratory crackles
-What investigation should be done in suspected bronchiolitis?
Pulse oximetry
Name 3 reasons for bronchiolitis admission?
- apnoea
- O2 sats <92% On room air
- inadequate oral fluid intake (dehydration)
- severe resp distress
What are signs of respiratory distress in children?
- grunting
- marked chest recession
- resp rate >60breaths/min
Outline the basics in bronchiolitis management.
-humidified O2 (conc dependent on O2 sats)
-monitor for apnoea
+/- fluids via IV or NG tube, rarely CPAP
-infection control measures
What is the time course of bronchiolitis symptoms, how long can it/cough last? And with which pathogen can permanent damage occur aka bronchiolitis ___.
- illness peaks ~3-5days then resolves
- cough may last 2 weeks+
- ~50% may have recurrent cough and wheeze
- adenovirus can -> bronchiolitis obliterans
What test can be used in the diagnosis of bronchiolitis?
Nasopharyngeal aspirate for RSV PCR or rapid antigen test
What is Palivizumab used for (albeit rarely due to cost and need for repeated IM injections)?
-prevention of brochiolitis of RSV origin