Respiratory Flashcards
bronchiectasis, COPD, lung cancer
what is the pathology of bronchiectasis?
chronic inflammation of the bronchi + bronchioles leads to permanent dilatation + thinning (elastin fibres) of these airways.
defective muco-ciliary clearance -> infection -> organism persists and inhibits ciliary function further -> colonisation with chronic inflammatory response -> tissue damage -> progressive lung damage
what are the main organisms causing bronchiectasis?
h influenzae
strep pneumoniae
staph aureus
pseudomonas aeruginosa
what are the congenital causes of bronchiectasis?
cystic fibrosis
young’s syndrome (bronchiectasis, rhinosinusitis + reduced fertility)
primary ciliary dyskinesia/kartagener’s syndrome
what are the post-infection causes of bronchiectasis?
measles pertussis bronchiolitis pneumonia TB HIV
what are the other causes of bronchiectasis (not infection or post-infection)?
bronchial obstruction (tumour, foreign body)
allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)
hypogammaglobulinaemia
rheumatoid arthritis
UC
idiopathic
what are the symptoms of bronchiectasis?
persistent cough
copious purulent sputum
intermittent haemoptysis
what are the signs of bronchiectasis?
finger clubbing
coarse inspiratory crepitations
wheeze (asthma, COPD, ABPA)
conjunctival pallor- anaemia of chronic disease
pitting oedema
raised JVP/RV heave
thin skin from chronic disease +/- malabsorption
cyanosis
what are the complications of bronchiectasis?
pneumonia pleural effusion pneumothorax haemoptysis cerebral abscess amyloidosis
what bedside/blood tests would you do for bronchiectasis?
serum immunoglobulins
sputum culture
CF sweat test
aspergillus precipitins or skin-prick test RAST and total IgE
spiromotery- obstructive pattern, assess reversibility
what imaging and other tests would you do for bronchiecatsis (+ why) ?
1- CXR
2- HRCT chest - to assess extent +distribution
3- bronchosopy - locate site of haemoptysis, exclude obstruction and obtain culture samples
what would you see on CXR for bronchiectasis?
cystic shadows
thickened bronchial walls (tramline and ring shadows)
how would you manage bronchiectasis?
1- airway clearance techniques + mucolytics - chest physiotherapy + flutter valve aids sputum expectoration + mucus drainage
2- antibiotics- according to bacterial sensitivities
3- bronchodilators eg nebulised salbutamol if asthma, COPD, CF, ABPA
4- corticosteroids eg prednisolone + also itraconazole for ABPA
5- surgery for localised disease or control severe haemoptysis
what antibiotics would you give for bronchiectasis if patient is known to culture pseudomonas?
oral ciprofloxacin or other IV antibiotics
3 or more exacerbations/year give long-term antibiotics (neublised)
what are the general categories for causes of bronchiectasis?
localised
- after severe pneumonia
- distal to endobronchial obstruction- foreign body, tumour
- distal to extrabronchial obstruction- tuberculous hilar nodes (Brock’s syndrome)
generalised- immune complexes + persistent infections cause bronchial wall damage
persistent infx- cystic fibrosis, ciliary dyskinesia/kargagener’s sydnrome, mucus abnomrality/young’s syndrome, immune defects (immunoglobulin or complement deficiency, chornc granulomatous disease)
immune complexes- ABPA, RA, IBD.
rare- yellow nail syndrome, A1-antitrypsin deficiency, marfan’s
what is COPD?
COPD is a progressive disorder characterised by airway obstruction with little or no reversibility
it includes chronic bronchitis + emphysema
FEV1 <80% predicted
FEV1/FVC <0.7
what is chronic bronchitis?
defined clinically as a cough, sputum production on most days for 3 months of 2 successive years
smoking causes bronchial mucus gland hypertrophy + increased mucus production. early changes in small airways.
symptoms improve if they stop smoking
no excess mortality if lung function is normal
what is emphysema
defined histologically as enlarged air spaces distal to terminal bronchioles with destruction of alveolar walls
often visualised on CT
destruction of lung tissue with dilatation of distal airspaces, leads to loss of elastic recoil, hyperinflation, gas trapping + increased work of breathing. as the disease progresses, CO2 levels rise and resp drive swtiches from co2 to hypoxaemia.
what would be the differences seen between asthma and COPD?
Copd usually age of onset >35yo
passive/active smoking or pollution related
chronic dyspnoea
sputum production
minimal diurnal or day to day FEV1 variation
what are the symptoms of COPD?
cough
sputum
dyspnoea
wheeze