Respiratory System Flashcards
What are the causes of an ipsilateral trachea on CXR?
- Pneumonectomy
- Lobar or total lung collapse
3.
Borders of the chest drain site? - triangle of safety (4)
- Anterior border of lat dorsi
- Lateral border of pectorals major
- Line superior to horizontal level of nipple
- Apex below axilla
What do these symptoms suggest an infection of?
- Flu-like symptoms with fever and dry cough
- Patient recently been on package holiday to Greece
- Deranged LFTs and hyponatraemia labs
Legionella pneumophila - Legionnaire’s disease
What is the treatment for Legionnaire’s disease?
Erythromycin
What is the most likely diagnosis for a young person with a dry cough and flu-like symptoms for one week, with tender red patches on shins?
Mycoplasma pneumoniae
What are the red, tender patches on shins from mycoplasma pneumoniae?
Erythema nodosum/multiforme
What will be seen on investigations (CXR/bloods) for someone with mycoplasma pneumoniae?
Bilateral consolidation on CXR
Thrombocytopenia and low Hb on bloods
What is the management of mycoplasma pneumoniae?
Erythromycin/clarithromycin
What are the three main atypical pneumonias?
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
- Legionella pneumophilia
- Chlamydia pneumoniae
What are the most common causes of CAP? (3)
- Staph aureus
- Strep pneumoniae
- Legionella pneumophila
What are the three common causes of HAP? (3)
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Klebsiella
- Haemophilus influenza
What is the CURB65 scores boundaries?
C - confusion AMTS <8 U - urea >7 R - RR >30 B - <90/60 65
What is the mnemonic helpful to learn acute life threatening asthma?
33, 92 CHEST PEFR<33% predicted O2 sats <92% C - cyanosis H - hypotension E - exhaustion S - silent chest T - tachycardia
What are the boundaries for acute severe asthma? (4)
- PEFR 33-50%
- Can’t complete sentences
- RR >25/min
- Pulse >110pm
What are the boundaries for moderate acute asthma? (4)
- Peak flow predicted 50-75%
- RR <25/min
- Pulse <110bpm
- Normal speech
When decided if someone needs long-term oxygen therapy, how many ABG measurements need to be taken and how many weeks apart?
2 measurements, at least 3 weeks apart, and not sooner than 4 weeks after an acute exacerbation of disease
When is long-term oxygen therapy considered for patients? (9) …good luck with those
- COPD with PaO2 <7.3kPa
- COPD with PaO2 7.3-8kPa with secondary polycythaemia, nocturnal hypoxaemia, peripheral oedema or evidence of pulmonary hypertension
- Severe chronic asthma PaO2<7.3kPa (or persistent disabling dyspnoea)
- Interstitial lung disease with PaO2<8
- Cystic fibrosis when PaO2<7.3 or the secondary problems described above
- Obstructive sleep apnoea despite continuous CPAP
- Pulmonary malignancy
- Heart failure with daytime PaO2<7.3kPa
- Paediatric respiratory disease
How is legionella pneumophila diagnosed?
Urinary antigen
What is the atypical infection associated with farm animals?
Coxiella burnetti
What is the atypical infection associated with exposure to birds?
Chlamydia psittaci
What are the characteristics associated with squamous cell cancer? (4)
- Typically central tumours
- Most present as obstructive lesions of the bronchus, leading to infection
- Local spread is common but widespread mets occur relatively late
- Squamous ell has the strongest association with smoking out of all the lung cancers
What is the lung cancer least associated with smoking? most common type affecting non-smokers?
adenocarcinoma
Where do adenocarcinomas most commonly metastasise to? (2)
Brain and bone
How can bronchiectasis present?
A chronic cough with production of think, yellow sputum, sometimes tinged with blood. Recurrent episodes of fever and pleuritic chest pain requiring antibiotics.
What is bronchiectasis?
A condition where there is permanent dilatation of the bronchi and bronchioles due to the destruction of elastic and muscular components of the bronchial wall. It is often a consequence of recurrent infections secondary to an underlying condition.
What are the causes of bronchiectasis?
- 50% idiopathic
- TB, pneumonias, flu
- Childhood infection e.g. measles, pertussis, RSV
- Immunodeficiency e.g. HIV
- Connective tissue disorders e.g. SLE, Marfan’s, systemic sclerosis, RA, sjogrens
- Congenital: CF, kartegener’s
What are the symptoms of bronchiectasis? (3)
- Chronic productive cough
- Large volume of purulent sputum
- Haemoptysis, SOB, chest pain
What investigations may be carried out for suspected bronchiectasis?
- CXR
- CT
- Sputum cultures
What is the treatment for bronchiectasis? (5)
- Lifestyle changes
- Chest physio
- Bronchodilators
- Short term antibiotics for exacerbations e.g. cipro/taz
- Long term antibiotics e.g. azithromycin
How can sarcoidosis present? (6)
- Breathlessness
- Cough
- Skin lesions around nose with indurated plaques and discolouration (lupus pernio)
- Painful red eyes with blurred vision and photophobia
- Low grade fever
- Arthralgia
What is the treatment for sarcoidosis? (3)
- Corticosteroids
- Cytotoxics
- Lung transplant
What would be the top differential for a middle aged male presenting with gradually progressive dyspnoea on exertion and a non-productive cough, with no history of underlying lung disease or other systemic symptoms like rash or arthralgia, with restrictive pattern on spirometry?
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
What are the classic descriptions seen on CT for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis?
Ground glass appearance that develops into honeycombing - interstitial thickening
What are the two types of pleural effusions that can occur/
They are fluids that collect between the parietal and visceral pleural surfaces of the thorax, and are either transudative or exudative.
What is the difference between transudative and exudative pleural effusions?
Exudative effusions are from local inflammatory sources, while transudative arise from more systemic factors.
Which have more protein, exudative or transduative?
Exudative
What is the Light’s criteria?
If the pleural fluid protein is between 25-30g/L, Light’s criteria is used to differentiate between exudate and transudate.
Using Light’s criteria how is exudative effusion defined?
- Pleural protein to serum protein ratio >0.5
- Pleural LDH to serum LDH ratio >0.6
- Pleural LDH greater than two-thirds of upper limit or normal for serum
What is the treatment for pleural effusions?
It depends on the cause…
- Malignancy = further imaging and therapeutic drainage
- Infective (empyema) = IV antibiotics, chest drain and supportive therapy
- Congestive heart failure = diuretic and supportive therapy
Which TB medication is most likely to cause optic neuritis?
Ethambutol
Which of the anti-TB drugs are only given for 2 months as opposed to 6?
- Pyrazinimide
2. Ethambutol
Which bacteria is the most likely cause of an infective exacerbation of COPD with no features evident on CXR?
Haemophilus influenzae
What are the pulmonary causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)? (3)
- Pneumonia
- Gastric aspiration
- Inhalation injury
What are the systemic causes of ARDS? (9)
- Shock/sepsis
- Haemorrhage
- Pancreatitis
- Acute liver failure
- Head injury
- Malaria
- Fat embolism
- Burns
- Drugs/toxins
What happens in ARDS?
There is release of inflammatory mediators which cause increased capillary permeability and non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema (often accompanied by multi-organ failure)
What are the clinical features of ARDS? (5)
- Cyanosis
- Tachypnoea
- Tachycardia
- Peripheral vasodilatation
- Bilateral fine inspiratory crackles
What investigations are performed for ARDS?
- CXR
- FBC, U&Es, LFTs, amylases, clotting, CRP, blood cultures, ABG
- Pulmonary artery catheter to measure capillary wedge pressure