SOB Flashcards
DDx 1
DDx 2
What are some things that are important to derive from the history in a respiratory history?
- Wheeze
- Breathlessness
- Cough
- Sputum? If so, colour?
- Haemoptysis
- Weight loss
- FLAWS - signs of malignancy
- Fever
- Lethargy
- Appetite loss
- Weight loss
- Night sweats
- Tender limbs (DVT)
- Think PE
- Weakness - suggests MND or NMJ diseaese
- Guillan-Barre
- Myasthenia gravis
- Blood loss - menstrual rectal bleeding and melaena
- Because of anaemic exacerbation
- Normal history things
- Smoking
- Pets - allergies
- Occupational history
- Medications - some drugs can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis e.g. amiodarone, methotrexate, nitrofurantoin, bleomycin
- PMH - autoimmune conditions - RA, SLE - can cause ILD and pleural effusions
What is the nature of coughs in the following pathologies - type and timeline or other special features?
1) Pneumonia
2) Chronic bronchitis
3) Asthma
4) Left ventricular failure
5) PE
6) Lung cancer
7) Cavitating pneumonia
1)
Pneumonia
- Persistent, productive cough over last few days
2)
Chronic bronchitis
- Persistent, productive cough most days of the past 3 months and spanning at least 2 consecutive years
3)
Asthma
- Dry cough during SOB episodes
- Dry cough at night
4)
Left ventricular failure
- Same as in asthma - dry cough during SOB or at night
5)
PE
- Bloodstained sputum
6)
Lung cancer
- Bloodstained sputum
- AND / OR…
- Bovine cough (due to recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy)
7)
Cavitating pneumonia
- Bloodstained pneumonia
DDx of productive cough?
- Pneumonia - persistent productive cough over past few days
- Chronic bronchitis - persistent productive cough most days over at least 3 months spanning at least 2 consecutive years
1) DDx of dry cough?
2) What is the pattern of when the dry cough happens in these pathologies?
1)
- Asthma
- Left ventricular failure
2)
- During SOB episodes
- Nocturnal
When may you get coughing with bloodstained sputum - give a DDx?
- PE
- Lung cancer
- Cavitating pneumonia
What is croup, what does it sound like and when do you get it?
- A characteristic type of cough that sounds like a barking cough
- In certain viral infections
What is bovine cough and when does it occur?
- Characteristic sounding cough that occurs in recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (in lung cancer)
What type of chest pain often occurs alongside SOB and which ddx’s does this point you towards?
- Pleuritic chest pain (chest pain upon inspiration)
- Causes:
- PE
- Pneumothorax
What can muscular weakness alongside SOB be due to - what ddx’s does this point you towards?
- Guillan-Barre - a demyelinating LMND
- Myasthenia gravis - NMJ disease
- MND (Motor Neurone Disease)
- Lambert-Eaton syndrome
- Polymyositis
What does a tender limb - red, tender, warm and shiny looking limb - alongside SOB suggest - what ddx?
- PE
What is the constellation of other symptoms that can present alongside shortness of breath in malignancy - it is a common acronym?
- FLAWS
- Fevers
- Lethargy
- Appetite loss
- Weight loss
- Night sweats
1) What does blood loss alongside SOB suggest?
2) What sources of blood loss should you look out for in the respiratory history?
1)
- Anaemia can be the cause of breathlessness or there can be anaemic exacerbation of respiratory conditions
- You can also query lung mets in blood loss for example from rectal bleeding or melaena causing SOB
2)
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Fresh rectal blood
- Melaena
What diseases does the umbrella term COPD comprise?
- Chronic bronchitis
- Emphysema
Not sure about this but double check:
- Refractory Asthma (non-reversible)
Define chronic bronchitis
- Persistent productive cough most days for at least 3 months over the course of at least 2 consecutive years
- Permanent, largerly ireversible SOB
What are some risk factors for COPD?
- Smoking (usually > 20 pack years)
- Occupational exposure to lung irritants
- Alpha-antitrypsin deficiency - in lung disease or FHx
Give some signs of COPD
- Hyperexpanded chest
- Breathing through pursed lips
- Reduced air entry / chest expansion
- Prolonged expiratory phase
- Hyper-resonant percussion note
1) What are some triggers or time points when asthma is exacerbated?
2) Which medications can exacerbate asthma?
3) What are risk factors for asthma derived from the family history?
1)
- Worse at night or in the early morning
- Worse during exercise
- Worse when exposed to allergens
- Worse in the cold
2)
- Beta-blockers
- NSAIDS
- Aspirin
3)
- Family history of atopic diseases (allergies, eczema, hayfever, nasal polyps)
1) What key risk factors in ILD are there?
2) What are some common signs on examination in ILD?
1)
- Exposure to particulates
- Asbestos
- Silica
- Coal (pneumoconioses causing ILD)
- Exposure to certain drugs
- Methotrexate
- Amiodarone
2)
- Clubbing
- Reduced air entry / chest expansion
- Late inspiratory, fine crackles (may be heard at either bases or at apices)
2)
What would bronchiectasis present like and what is often in the PMH in bronchiectasis?
- Productive cough
- Reccurent chest infections
- Common PMH of CF (Cystic Fibrosis)
What are the risk factors for HF?
- Ischaemic Heart Disease (including previous MI etc) and all the risk factors for IHD itself (hypercholesterolaemia, HTN, hyperglycaemia, south Asian descent, strong family history)
- Other atherosclerotic disease - stroke, TIA, PVD - limb claudication
- HTN
- Cardiomyopathy (dilated)
- Valvular disease (e.g. aortic stenosis)
What are the presenting symptoms of HF?
- Exertional dyspnoea
- Orthopnoea
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
- Swollen ankles (peripheral ankle oedema) - in Right Ventricular Failure
Why may the absence of angina and MI not exclude ischaemic heart disease in some patients?
- ‘Silent infarcts / ischaemia’ may present in diabetics - angina or MI without chest pain