Respiratory (history) Flashcards
what are the most common symptoms that are related with respiratory problems?
- Cough & Sputum
- Hemoptysis
- Dyspnea
- Chest Pain
- Wheezing
- Associated symptoms
what is a cough?
reflex response that irritates receptors in the resp. tract that is used to protect the lungs from injury or infection
(you cough as a reflex to prevent something from entering the lungs)
what kind of stimuli can elicit the cough reflex?
mechanical - foreign body, pus, mucus, blood
inflammation in resp mucosa
chemical - aspiration of food
thermal
what is considered an acute cough?
what causes an acute cough?
cough that lasts less than 3 weeks
- common cold
- acute bronchitis
- pertusis
- pneumonia
- left heart failure
- asthma
- foreign body
what nerve is needed to cough?
glossopharengeal for afferent
vagus to innervate the muscles
what is considered an chronic cough?
what causes an chronic cough?
cough lasting more than 8 weeks
- COPD
- GE reflux
- chronic bronchitis
- bronchiectasis
- post-nasal drip
- ACE inhibitors
- bronchogenic carcinoma
what is considered an subacute cough?
what causes an subacute cough?
cough lasting form 3-8 weeks
- post-infectious cough
- asthma
- bacterial sinusitis
what is considered a nocturnal cough?
what can cause it?
cough only at night
- asthma
- heart Failure
- GERD
what are the 2 types of cough?
productive
unproductive (dry)
what is unproductive cough?
in what conditions can you see this type of cough?
without secretions
- Mycoplasmal pneumonia
- ACE inhibitor use
what is a productive cough?
where do you see it?
sputum or phlegm is found
- bronchitis
- bacterial pneumonia
what are the types of sputum?
- mucoid
- purulent
- foul smelling or putrid
- rusty
- frothy
mucoid sputum is found in what conditions?
how does it look?
asthma
translucent, white or grey
how does a purulent sputum look?
in what conditions do you see it?
yellowish or greenish
bacterial bronchitis or pneumonia
in what conditions can have putrid sputum?
- bronchiectasis
- lung abscess
- necrotizing pneumonia
what is another name for rusty sputum?
in what conditions do you see it?
how does it look?
prune-juice sputum
pneumococcal or strep. pneumonie
sputum with blood
how does a frothy sputum look?
this is characteristic of what condition?
thin secretion with air bubbles
pulmonary edema
what investigations can you do for the resp. system?
- history and physical exam
- chest radiography
- pulmonary function test
- sputum
- bronchoscopy
- high resolution CT
in a chest radiography, what do you look for?
mass lesion
parenchymal opacification
interstitial disease
honey combing
lymphadenopathy
when doing a pulmonary function test, what do you look for?
if there is obstructive or restrictive function
methacoline challenge
when testing the sputum, what do you look for?
gross and microscopic exam and culture stain
what is hemoptysis?
how does hemoptysis vary?
coughing blood from lower resp, tract
can be blood-streaked sputum or frank blood
what is a good indicator of asthma?
person starts coughing fhwne there are changes in temperature, (baby coughs while sleeping in Air conditioning, you open windown, temp changes, baby stops coughing and once the temp settles, starts coughing again)
in a patient with hemoptysis, what do you want to assess?
amount of blood coughed
associated symptoms
