Respiratory diseases Flashcards
Dyspnoea
difficult or laboured breathing DIB or SIB
Orthopnoea
difficulty breathing when laid flat
Apnoea
cessation / lack of breathing
Tachypnoea
RAPID respiration
Hypoxemia
Low O2 in the blood
Hypoxia
LOW O2 in the tissue
cyanosis
bluish discolouration LOW O2
Hypercapnia
High CO2 in the tissue
What does COPD stand for
Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases
What is COPD
progressive, irreversible lung damage that reduces air flow and ability to breath.
UMBRELLA term - for two main respiratory chronic disease
-chronic bronchitis
-emphysema
What causes COPD
by chronic smoking but sometimes industrial activity (eg: work in a hazardous environment without proper PPE or heavy pollution
Name symptoms of COPD
Constantly low oxygen saturations (SpO2 less than 95%)
Constant dyspnoea and/or wheezing.
Persistent mucus build-up in the lungs and a continuous productive cough
More frequent chest infections due to tissue damage.
COPD Pathophysiology
Alveoli lose elasticity and shape - making it harder to EXHALE
Air trapped in the lungs
Bronchial tubes become inflamed and narrowed
Thick mucus builds causing a chronic cough
Explain what happens in the bronchioles for COPD
Bronchitis is inflammation of the airway. Specifically, of the lining of the bronchial tree
Define Chronic Bronichitis
Chronic bronchitis → thickening and scarring of the bronchial lining → airway becomes narrower and stiffer.
Also → Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of mucus-producing structures (seromucous glands and goblet cells)
This fills the airways with mucus.
What defines the term chronic bronchitis
diagnosis confirmed if the patient has a daily cough that produces purulent sputum for 3 months or more in at least 2 consecutive years.
Emphysema
damage to the alveoli wall.
Disintegration of the alveolar walls → alveolar sacks contain fewer individual alveoli → abnormally low surface area available for gas exchange.
Loss of elasticity of the alveoli walls → reduces their ability to “elastically recoil” during exhalation → exhalation more difficult.
Emphysema therefore makes breathing more difficult, and reduces how much O2 is obtained and how much CO2 is released from each breath.
COPD Pathophysiology
airways that are narrower, constantly inflamed, in-elastic and full of mucus.
Alveolar sacs that are distended, with fewer individual alveoli: greatly reduced surface area for gas exchange.
…result in the symptoms of COPD, as well as poor ventilation (low values in FEV1 and PEFR tests) and therefore hypoxia, resulting in low SpO2.
Treatment / management for COPD
keep SpO2 in known COPD patients between 88% and 92% to avoid hypercapnia
to support and open airways Salbutamol may be used
Bronchiectasis
An uncommon disease, usually secondary to an infection.
abnormal, permanent dilation of one or more proximal and medium bronchi
what does bronchiectasis cause within the bronchi
weakening of bronchial walls via destruction of their muscular and elastic components.
Bronchial wall inflammation, ulceration and/or scarring.
Oedema
this makes the lungs more likely to get infected
Asthma
Chronic inflammatory condition.
bronchial spasm, inflammation and increased mucus production → wheezing & difficult breathing (lower FEV1 and PEFR).
acute periods called asthma attacks.
Explain what happens to the bronchioles during an asthma attack
the bronchioles are lined with smooth muscle.
This spasms and constricts as well as increasing mucus this results in wheezing difficulty breathing or no ability to breath.
inflammation intensifies, obstructing the airway significantly/almost totally
acute bronchoconstriction
airway oedema
mucous plug formation
airway remodelling – increasing stiffness
These obstructions increase resistance to airflow → decrease ability to expel air → hyperinflation of the lungs → breathing difficulty → less O2.
how can asthma be managed
nebulizers (inhalers) containing a bronchodilator (eg: adrenaline receptor agonists, salbutamol)
