Respirology Flashcards
Name the 2 criteria needed for a diagnosis of asthma
- History of Variable respiratory symptoms that vary over time and intensity
- Confirmed Variable expiratory airflow limitation
- Need spirometry for diagnosis
Name 4 clinical phenotypes of asthma
- Allergic: Classic asthma, atopy, eosinophilic inflammation, responds to ICS
- Non-allergic: Neutrophilic, eosinophilic or paucigranulocytic inflammation with less response to. ICS
- Adult-onset: Non-allergic, requires higher ICS doses, rule-out occupational asthma
- Asthma associated with obesity: little eosinophilic inflammation
- Associated with persistent airflow limitation: Longstanding asthma causing fixed obstrucion due to airway remodelling
How is asthma diagnosed
- On PFT. Require presence of 2 criteria
- Expiratory airflow limitation
- Reduced FEV1/FVC confirmed at least once
- Variability, demonstrated by presence of at least one of the following:
- Positive bronchodilator reversibility
- Improvement in FEV1 by >12% and 200ml post bronchodilator
- Improvement in lung function with antiinflammatory treatments x4 weeks
- Improvement in FEV1>12% and 200ml
- Peak flow variability
- Average daily diurnal PEF variability >10%
- Excessive variability in twice daily PEF over 2 weeks
- Positive bronchial challenge test or exercise challenge test
- Positive bronchodilator reversibility
- Expiratory airflow limitation
What are the criteria for a positive, borderline and negative methacholine challenge
- Look for drop in FEV1 by 20% while giving increasing doses of metacholine. The dose required is your PC20
- PC20 < 4 mg/ml = positive
- PC20 4-16 = borderline
- PC20 > 16 = negative
What criteria makes an exercise challenge positive for asthma
Fall in FEV1 of > 10% and 200ml from baseline
List the CTS asthma control criteria
List risk factors for severe asthma exacerbation
- Any history of a previous severe asthma exacerbation
- poorly controlled asthma as per CTS criteria
- Current smoker
- Overuse of SABA (= use of more than 2 saba inhalers per year)
What defines a severe asthma exacerbation
- Any one of
- Requires systemic steroids
- Requires ED visit
- Requires hospital admission
Describe the stepwise approach to asthma as per the GINA guidelines
Describe the non-pharmacological treatments for asthma
- confirm the diagnosis, education and written asthma action plan
- Weight loss, exercise training
- Allergen/trigger avoidance. allergen immunotherapy
- Smoking cessation
- vaccination
- Avoidance of NSAIDS +/- Beta-blockers
- Treat comorbidities
What should be assessed before stepping up asthma therapy
- Inhaler technique and adherence
- optimisation of non-pharmacological management
When can you consider stepping down asthma therapy
If patient has symptom control for 2 months and is low risk for exacerbations
When should LTRA be considered in asthma
Less effective than inhalers
May be appropriate as initial controller therapy in patients who are intolerant or unwilling to use ICS
Most effective in aspirin induced asthma, exercise induced asthma or allergic rhinitis
LABA-ICS > ICS-LTRA
What black box warning is associated with Montelukast
Increased suicidality in adolescents and adults
What is the difference between uncontrolled and severe asthma
What workup should be sent in severe asthma
- Total IgE
- Peripheral eosinophil count
- Sputum eosinophils and FeNO when available
What classes of medications can be considered in severe asthma
- Tiotropium mist inhaler
- Macrolides
- Biologics
- Low dose oral corticosteroids
- ?Bronchial thermoplasty in specialized centers
- Role remains uncleat
What is Omalizumab and what are the indications for it’s use?
Anti-IgE
- Indication
- Allergic asthma with IgE 30-700 sensitive to at least 1 perennial allergen, severe despite high doses ACS and one other controller
What are mepolizumab, resilizumab and benralizumab and what are their indications
Anti IL-5
- Indications
- Severe eosinophilic asthma (Eos >300) and recurrent exacerbations despite high dose ICS and another controller
What is dupilumab and what are it’s indications?
Anti IL-4 and IL-13
- Add-on option for severe eosinophilic asthma or those with nasal polyposis moderate-severe atopic dermatitis
How is seasonal allergic asthma treated
Start ICS immediately when symptoms commence and continue for 4 weeks after relevant pollen season ends
How is exercise-induced asthma treated
Salbutamol pre-exercise
if insufficient add LTRA pre-exercise
If still insufficient try regular ICS
What percent of patients with asthma will have worstening of their asthma symptoms during pregnancy
- Rule of thirds:
- 1/3 get better
- 1/3 stay the same
- 1/3 get worst
In which trimester of pregnancy are asthma exacerbations most common
second trimester
Having asthma increases your risk for these 3 conditions during pregnancy
- Pre-eclampsia
- Low birth weight
- pre-term birth
How is asthma treated during pregnancy?
The same as outside of pregnancy
*Budesonide is the ICS with the best evidence for safety in pregnancy but all ICS are likely safe
Do NOT withhold oral steroids if a patient is exacerbating
What is the specific triad associated with ASA exacerbated respiratory disease?
- Asthma
- nasal polyps
- ASA/NSAIDs sensitivity
How is ASA exacerbated respiratory disease treated?
- Avoid NSAIDS/ASA
- Can treat like normal asthma but good response to LTRA
- ASA desensitization can be considered
Name 5 asthma plus syndromes/asthma mimics
- Bronchiectasis
- EGPA
- Vocal cord dysfunction
- ABPA
- reactive airways dysfunction syndrome
What are the symptoms of EGPA
- Asthma
- Eosinophilia
-
granulomatous vasculitis:
- Cardiac
- Sinusitis
- allergic rhinitis
- transient pulmonary infiltrates
- purpura
- neuro
- GI
- 30-60% have positive p-ANCA
What are the symptoms of vocal cord dysfunction
- Sx:
- Abrupt onset inspiratory stridor
How is vocal cord dysfunction diagnosed?
Via laryngoscopy (adduction of vocal cords on inspiration)
How is vocal cord dysfunction treated
Speech therapy
*also education, behavior modification, and treating possible underlying GERD
What are the symptoms of ABPA
- Can complicate asthma
- Presents with recurrent exacerbations with:
- Fever
- brown sputum with “casts”
What are the diagnostic criteria for ABPA?
- Asthma
- pulmonary infiltrates
- Skin and serum precipitins to aspergillus
- Increased total IgE and aspergillus specific IgE >1000
- Increased eosinophils
- Central bronchiectasis
How is ABPA treated?
- Corticosteroids (cornerstone of Tx)
- Itraconazole
Describe the symptoms of reactive airway dysfunction syndrome
Acute form of irritant induced asthma with symptoms promptly following a single high dose exposure to vapors, gasses or fumes
Lasts > 3 months
How is reactive airways dysfunction syndrome treated
Same way as asthma exacerbation
What is the spirometry diagnosis criteria for COPD
FEV1/FVC < 0.70
What is the severity scale of COPD based on airflow limitation on spirometry
- Mild: FEV1 >80%
- Moderate: FEV1: 50-80%
- Severe: FEV1: 30-50%
- Very severe: FEV1 <30%
List the management goals in COPD patients
- Prevent disease progression
- Reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations
- Alleviate breathlessness
- Improve exercise tolerance and daily activity
- Treat exacerbations and complications of disease
- Improve health status
- Reduce mortality
Describe the stepwise approach to pharmacological management of COPD according to CTS
What specific blood test should be done once in all patients diagnosed with COPD?
Alpha-1 antitrypsin
Describe the non-pharmacological management of COPD
-
Smoking cessation + living in a smoke free environement
- Increases survival and improves rate of FEV1 decline
-
Pulmonary rehab and remaining physically active
- Most effective therapy to improve dyspnea, exercise capacity and health status
- Reduces exacerbations if started following recent (<4 weeks) exacerbation
- Increased survival if started <4 weeks post exacerbation
-
Supplemental O2 *
- Increased survival in severe resting hypoxemia
- No benefit in moderate resting or exercise induced moderate desaturation
- Offer to patients with severe hypoxemia (PaO2<55mmHg) or when PaO2 <60 and presence of bilateral ankle edema, cor pulmonale or HCT>56%
- vaccination
- self-management and education
- review of inhaler techniques
- end of life care
Describe the modified MRC dyspnea scale
What inhaled therapy should be prescribed in COPD based on severity of disease and risk of exacerbation
*High risk of exacerbation is defined as 2 or more exacerbations in the past year or 1 or more requiring hospitalization
**LAMA preferred to ICS
No role for ICS monotherapy, increased infection risk.
What further escalation of therapy can be considered to prevent exacerbations in patients already on triple therapy
NAC can also be considered
What vaccines are indicated in the maintenance treatment of COPD?
- Influenza
- Pneumococcal
- TdAP pertussis
What is recommended for the symptomatic treatment of dyspnea in advanced COPD?
- Oral opioids (not nebulized)
- Neuromuscular electrical muscle stimulation
- Chest wall vibration
- walking aids
- pursed-lip breathing
- Continuous O2 therapy for hypoxemic COPD patients reduces mortality and may reduce dyspnea
not recommended
- Anxiolytics and antidepressants
- Supplemental o2 in non-hypoxemic patients
Not enough evidence
- Acupuncture
- acupressure
- destructive auditory stimuli
- relaxation
- handheld fans
- Counseling and support programs
- psychotherapy
What are the diagnostic criteria for ACO
- Required
- Diagnosis of COPD given risk factors, history, spirometry
- History of asthma (past Dx, current sx consistent or physiology confirmed with spirometry
- Spirometry: post-bronchodilator fixed FEV1/FVC <0.7
- Supportive but not required
- Documentation of a bronchodilator improvement of FEV1 by 200ml or 12%
- sputum eosinophils >3%
- Blood eosinophils >300 cells/uL (current or previously documented)
How is ACO treated
- 1st line ICS-LABA
- Refractory symptoms, add LAMA
How would you treat a COPD patient with severe chronic hypercapnia and a history of hospitalisations for hypercarbic resp failure
If pCO2>52, NIV. COnsult respirology
In which patients should you consider lung reduction surgery
Severe emphysema with upper lobe predominant disease and low post-rehabilitation exercise capacity
What are the criteria for lung transplant in COPD patients
- BODE score 7-10 and 1 of
- Hospitalized with COPDe with PCO2 >50
- Pulmonary hypertension/cor pulmonale despite supplemental oxygen
- FEV1<20 with DLCO<20
When should antibiotics be used in COPD exacerbation?
- Presence of 3 cardinal symptoms (2 if one of them is increased purulence)
- Increase in dyspnea
- Increase in sputum volume
- Increase in sputum purulence
When antibiotics are indicated in COPD exacerbation, which ones should be used? And for how long
- Depends on local resistance pattern, usually amox-clav, macrolide, tetracycline
- treat 5-7 days
What are the indications for steroid treatment in AECOPD
- Moderate to severe exacerbations with 40mg Pred x 5 days
When should BIPAP be considered in COPD exacerbation
- If any of:
- pH<7.35 or pCO2>45
- severe dyspnea (i.e. impending resp failure)
- persistent hypoxemia despite supplemental O2
What is the treatment for smoking cessation
Varencicline + nicotine patch
What are the most common symptoms of bronchiectasis
- Chronic resp. disease characterised by cough, sputum production and bronchial infectiom
- Most common symptoms
- Cough with sputum and/or hemoptysis
- dyspnea and fatigue
- rhinosinusitis
- Thoracic pain
- Most common symptoms
What are the treatment goals in bronchiectasis
- Prevent exacerbations
- improve QOL
- reduce disease progression
*
What are the etiologies of bronchiectasis
What should be the workup for bronchiectasis?
- ABPA testing
- CBC
- Total IgE
- Sensitization to aspergillus
- Serum immunoglobulins
- CF sweat test
- Test for primary ciliary dyskinesia (nasal nitric oxyde)
- Sputum cultures
Also consider
- RF, Anti-CCP, ANA, ANCA
- Alpha1 antitrypsin
- HIV testing
- Videofluoroscopic swallow study
What is the treatment of chronic bronchiectasis
- Airway clearance
- Active cycle of breathing technique
- Mucoactive agents
- hypertonic saline
- DNAse only in CF
- Antimicrobials
- Inhaled colistin or gentamycin if Pseudomonas colonized
- Chronic azithromycin if recurrent exacerbations (with or without Pseudomonas colonization … rule out NTM)
- Bronchodilators
- Use if otherwise indicated
- Offer trial if significant breathlessness
- Pulmonary rehab
- If functionally limited by dyspnea (MRC≥1)
- Vaccines
- Influenza
- Pneumococcal
- Supplemental O2
- Same criteria as COPD
- No routine ICS, oral steroids, PDE4-I
Advanced therapies:
- Consider surgery, lung resection if localized disease
- Transplant if:
- Poor lung function plus 1 of:
- Massive. hemoptysis
- severe pulmonary hypertension
- ICU admissions
- resp failure requiring NIV
- Poor lung function plus 1 of:
- NIV if resp failure + hypercarbia, especially if recurrent hospitalization