Session 11 Flashcards
Name 4 resp conditions that affect the airways
- Asthma
- COPD
- Bronchiectasis
- Cystic Fibrosis
Name 3 resp conditions that affect the lung parenchyma
- Pulmonary fibrosis
* Pneumonia • TB
Name a resp condition that affects the pulmonary circulation
• Pulmonary embolism
Name 2 resp conditions that affect the pleural space
- Pneumothorax
* Pleural effusion
Name 2 conditions that affect the chest wall shape and neuromuscular
kyphoscoliosis, myasthenia gravis
Cardinal Signs and Symptoms of Respiratory Disease
Breathlessness, chest pain, coughing, haemoptysis, phlegm/sputum, sounds from respiratory system
What is dyspnoea?
Breathlessness (dyspnoea)
Subjective awareness of increased effort of breathing
• Symptom rather than a sign but may be objective evidence i.e. raised RR, accessory muscle use
• Very common (…variably described) - Common to all respiratory conditions but not specific to respiratory conditions - e.g. anaemia, heart failure, obesity, diabetic ketoacidosis
“Difficulty getting enough air”
“short of breath..”
“can’t catch my breath”
“chest feels tight
Important to consider:
Onset/timing/duration important -sudden/hours/months/years/intermittent/constant
Are there precipitating factors? Position/weather/pollen/grass/animals
Progression?
Severity? Speaking/exertion/can they leave the house
Chest pain causes
Mediastinal structures
• Acute coronary syndrome • Pericarditis • Oesophagitis/GORD • Aortic dissection
Pleura
• Infection (causing pleurisy) • Pneumothorax • Pulmonary embolism (not all)(causing infarct)
Chest wall
• Rib fracture • Costochondritis (inflammation of cartilage)• Shingles (varicella zoster)
How to look at chest pain
Determining a cause…consider Location, Character and Exacerbating/ Relieving Factors
• Central vs non-central
• Cardiac vs “pleuritic”?
Cardiac pain: central, dull (except pericarditis which will be sharp), poorly localised, may radiate to shoulder/jaw, coughing wont have an effect
Pleuritic pain (irritation of parietal pleura) pain felt in Thoracic wall or shoulder tip (referred - intercostal nerve / phrenic nerve(some areas innervated by phrenic nerve so pain will refer to the shoulder) - Sharp, well localised - Worse with coughing and breathing in (word sometimes used to describe MSK pain )
Cough
A short, explosive expulsion of air…
• Important protective mechanism
• Triggered by stimulation of mechano- and/or chemo-receptors within airway by any source of irritation e.g. inflammation, foreign body!
A cough occurs via contraction of internal intercostal and abdominal muscles increasing intra thoracic pressure with addiction of VCs followed by abduction of VCs
Important considerations
• Productive cough = sputum colour
• Character e.g. bovine or seal/barking (crook)
• Timing, seasonal/day/night
• Commonest cause is URTI
• But…can be a sign of more serious and/or chronic disease
Productive cough
Sputum and Haemoptysis
• Chronic bronchitis and COPD → clear sputum (no active infection)
• Yellow/green sputum (live/dead neutrophils)→ infection
• Large volumes (yellow/green) → could suggest bronchiectasis
• Haemoptysis (blood in sputum)…potential red flag
Cause of cough
• Any irritation of airways, lung parenchyma or pleura (acute or chronic)
Non-respiratory causes:
• LV heart failure (“pink frothy sputum”) • GORD • Drugs e.g. ACE-inhibitors
Wheeze and stridor
Abnormal breath sounds indicating narrowing within the airway causing turbulent air flow
• Wheeze: high pitched, “musical”
• Mostly on expiration
• Narrowing in intrathoracic airways – E.g. from bronchial smooth muscle contraction, oedema, mucous
• Narrowing exacerbated during expiration
• May only be audible with stethoscope
- Stridor: high pitch, constant, loud
- Mostly on inspiration
- Indicates narrowing in extrathoracic airway - Supraglottis, glottis, infraglottis or trachea
- Narrowing exacerbated during inspiration
- Often audible without stethoscope!
Central or peripheral cyanosis
Bluish discolouration:
Peripheral (skin of feet, hands, nose and tips of ears) • Cold exposure and decreased cardiac output • Slowing of blood to peripheries (due to vasoconstriction) • Increased oxygen extraction • More deoxygenated blood present in that area
Central cyanosis: lips and tongue (mucous membranes) • Significant cardiac or respiratory cause • Caused by increase in amount of deoxygenated Hb in blood arriving at tissues [deoxygenated blood is leaving the heart]
Pursed lip breathing
Breathing out slowly through mouth with pursed lips
• Commonly seen in COPD
• Pursing lips increases resistance to outflow on expiration
• Maintains intrathoracic airway pressures allowing for small
airways to remain open for longer• prolonging period for gas exchange to occur • and to allowing more air to empty (rather than trap)
Barrel Shaped Chest
Increased A-P diameter
• Associated with lung hyperinflation • Seen in severe COPD (especially emphysema)
• AP diameter > lateral diameter
• Chronic over-inflation of lungs (due to air trapping)
• Hyperexpands the chest wall over time