Respiratory Failure and Sleep Apnoea Flashcards
What is hypoxia defined as
- defined as partial pressure of oxygen in the blood below 8 kPa
What is type 1 respiratory failure
- hypoxia - partial pressure of oxygen below 8kPa
what is type 2 respiratory failure
- hypoxia - partial pressure of oxygen below 8 kPa
- hypercapnia -partial pressure of carbon dioxide above 6.5 kPa
- carbon dioxide can dissolve in the blood to produce carbonic acid
- pH falls to less than 7.35 in acidosis
What is the main function of the lungs
- Ventilation
- gas exchange
- perfusion of the lungs
describe the mechanism of a action of ventilation
- intercostal muscles and diaphragm contract
- pressure inside the chest is less than outside
- air is sucked into the lungs
- inspiration takes place
- intercostal muscles and diaphragm relax
- elastic recoil of the lungs forces them to contract
- pressure inside the chest is greater than outside
- air is pushed out of the lungs
- expiration happens
What is the mechanism of hypoxia
- hypoventilation
- diffusion abnormality
- ventilation/perfusion mismatch
- right to left cardiac shunt (missing out the lungs)
- low inspired oxygen
What is the normal control of ventilation
- stimulation of breathing centre in the brain
- peripheral chemoreceptors of the carotid and aortic bodies
What can cause hypoventilation
- Obstruction to airways = asthma at late stage and COPD
- Thoracic cage problems = throacoplasty for TB, Kyphoscoliosis, morbid obesity
- Weakness of respiratory muscles = motor neurone disease and muscular dystrophy
- hypoxia stimulates increased ventilation, unable to increase ventilation = hypoxia and hypercapnia
What can cause a V/Q mismatch
Lung airspaces filled with fluid
- lobar pneumonia
- pulmonary oedema
Lung collapse
- pneumothorax
- lung collapse
Area of lung ventilated but not perfused
- pulmonary embolic
- asthma
- Hypoxia leads to increased ventilation
- more carbon dioxide is exhaled
- hypoxic but not hypercapnic
What can cause a diffusion abnormality
- Sarcoidosis
- pulmonary fibrosis
- COPD
- asbestosis
- Hypoxia leads to increased ventilation, more carbon dioxide is exhaled = hypoxic but not hypercapnic
What can cause low inspired oxygen
- high altitude
- air flight
What are the types of respiratory failure
- Type I Acute
- Type I Chronic
- Type II Acute
- Type II Chronic
What are the causes of type 1 respiratory failure
Diffusion abnormality
- pulmonary fibrosis
- emphysema in COPD
V/Q mismatch - reduced V
- pneumonia
- pulmonary oedema
- pneumothorax
- lung collapse
V/Q mismatch - reduced Q
- PE
Low inspired oxygen
What are the causes of type II respiratory failure
Obstruction to airways
- COPD
- Asthma
Hyper expanded lungs
- COPD
Thoracic cage problems
- Kyphoscoliosis, thoracoplasty
- obesity
Weakness of respiratory muscles
- e.g. MND, DMD
How do you treat acute type 1 respiratory failure
- high flow oxygen
- 60-100% oxygen via mask
- keep oxygen stats above 95%
- treat underlying cause - pneumonia, pulmonary oedema, pulmonary embolism, non severe asthma
- consider CPAP if continuing hypoxia
What is CPAP
Continuous positive airway pressure
How does CPAP work
= pushes pressure into airways mainly during expiration
- can expand collapse portions of the lungs which are under ventilated
What is the benefit of CPAP
• Improves ventilation perfusion matching • Improves hypoxia • Keeps airway open in sleep apnoea But • Does not overcome hypoventilation
If you patient is hypoxic you need to give them…
oxygen but not too much oxygen
What is acute type II respiratory failure due to
failure of ventilation
How do you treat acute type II respiratory failure
Use controlled oxygen therapy
- 0.5 or 2 l/min via nasal cannulae
- 24-28% masks using venturi valves
- aim to keep oxygen 88-92%
- do blood gases regularly to monitor carbon dioxide levels
- consider non invasive ventilation if pH and carbon dioxide is not improving
what does non invasive ventilation improve
- hypoventilation
- oxygenation
- prevents or reduces hypercapnia
What does non invasive ventilation do
- delivers high pressure during inspiration to improve ventilation
What conditions is non invasive ventilation helpful in
- useful in all conditions causing hypoventilation and type II respiratory failure
acute type II respiratory failure
- COPD exacerbations
Chronic type II respiratory failure
- kyphoscoliosis, thoracoplasty
- neuromuscular diseases such as MND, muscular dystrophy
- obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- COPD