Week 10 Flashcards
Difference between volume and capacity?
Capacity is the sum of more than one volume
Volume cannot be subdivided
What is the measure of airflow obstruction?
What is it’s normal value?
FEV1.0/FVC ratio
Normal > 0.7
[This is the percentage of the vital capacity which is expired in the first second of maximal expiration.
FEV1.0= Forced expiratory volume 1.0 measures how much air a person can exhale during a forced breath in the first second
FVC= Forced vital capacity is the total amount of air exhaled during the FEV test.]
Difference between obstructive and restrictive lung disease?
Obstructive: Increasing in resting volume due to loss of lung elastic recoil
Restrictive: People with restrictive lung disease cannot fully fill their lungs with air. Their lungs are restricted from fully expanding.
Difference in following patterns between obstructive and restrictive lung disease? FVC FEV1 FEF25-75 MVV FRC RV TLC
Obstructive: FVC - Same/Decrease FEV1 - Decrease FEF25-75 - Decrease MVV- Decrease FRC- Increase RV- Increase TLC- Increase
Restrictive: FVC- Decrease FEV1 - Same/decrease FEF25-75- Same/decrease MVV- Same/decrease FRC- Decrease RV- Decrease TLC- Decrease
Define following measurements: FVC? FEV1 ? FEF 25-75? MVV? FRC? RV? TLC?
FVC: Forced vital capacity is the total amount of air exhaled
FEV1: Forced expiratory volume in the first second
FEF25-75 = Forced Expiratory Flow at 25-75% of FVC
MVV: Maximum Voluntary Ventilation
FRC: Functional Residual Volume, the lung volume at the end of a normal expiration, when the muscles of respiration are completely relaxed
RV: Residual volume, the volume of the lungs after a maximal expiration– the lowest voluntary volume attainable.
TLC: Total lung capacity
In obstructive lung disease:
- Airflow obstruction measure?
- Common diseases?
FEV1.0/FVC < 0.7
Common disease: Asthma, COPD
What is the clinical presentation of asthma?
It is a clinical diagnosis. More than one of the following:
- Wheeze
- Breathlessness
- Chest tightness
- Cough
Especially if diurnal variation in symptoms and history of atopy.
Hyper-responsive to allergens, exercise, cold air
Define asthma
A chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in susceptible individuals, inflammatory symptoms are usually associated with widespread but variable airflow obstruction and an increase in airway response to a variety of stimuli. Obstruction is often reversible, either spontaneously or with treatment
Effect of airway obstruction on FEV1?
Lower FEV1 as the percentage of vital capacity exhaled is lower due to lower rate
What are the three components of the pathophysiology of asthma?
- Airway narrowing/obstruction
- Airway hyper-responsiveness
- Airway inflammation (eosinophils)
What are the pathological change sin the airways in asthma?
- Cellular infiltration
- Oedematous submucosa
- Thickened BM
- Smooth muscle hypertrophy and hyperplasia
- Mucous plug
- Hyperplasia of mucous glands
- Desquamation of epithelium
- Neovascularisation
What is an example of non-pharmacological treatment of asthma?
SIGN. Shown to:
- Achieve and maintain a normal BM if overweight
- Breathing exercise programmes
- Stop smoking
What is the structure of the pharmacological treatment of asthma?
- Mild intermittent asthma: Inhaled short-acting B2 agonist as required
- Regular preventer therapy: Add dose of corticosteroid per day
- Initial add-on therapy: Add inhaled long acting B2 agonist (LABA) –> Assess control of asthma (good response to LABA).
Benefit from LABA but still poor control = Continue LABA and increase inhaled corticosteroid dose to 800mg/day
No response to LABA = Stop LABA and increase corticosteroid to 800mg/at - Persistent poor control: Consider further increase of corticosteroid or addition of 4th drug (e.g. leukotriene receptor antagonist)
- Continuous or frequent use of oral steroids: Use of daily steroid tablet or refer patient for specialist care
What is COPD?
Preventable and treatable
Characterised by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles/gases
Causes of COPD
- TOBACCO SMOKING
- Indoor/outdoor pollution from biomass fuels
- alpha-1 antitypsin deficiency
Pathophysiology of COPD
- Inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchial wall
- Hypertrophy of the submucosal glands an hypersecretion of mucous
- Loss of elastic, parenchymal lung fibres which hold airway open –> emphysema
Clinical presentation of COPD?
Usually 50s and 60s Chronic cough Sputum production Increased dyspnoea Decreasing exercise tolerance History of exposure to risk factors
Difference between pink puffer and blue bloater presentaiton?
Pink puffer:
- Pink
- Pursed lips as alveoli tend to collapse
- Barrel chest due to air trapping
- Use of accessory muscles
- Decrease breath sounds
Blue bloater:
- Blue = cyanosed
- Bloater = signs of RHF
- Not just a lung disease (Weight loss, CVS disease, depression, osteoporosis)
Describe the different management strategies for different levels of COPD:
- Breathlessness and exercise limitations
- Exacerbations or persistent breathlessness
- Persistent exacerbations or breathlessness
- Breathlessness and exercise limitations
- SABA or SAMA (Short acting muscarinic agonist)
2. Exacerbations or persistent breathlessness [for FEV>50%] -LABA -LAMA (+discontinue SAMA) [for FEV< 50%] -LABA and ICS in a combination inhaler -LAMA (+ discontinue SMA)
- Persistent exacerbations or breathlessness
- LAMA + LABA + ICS in a combo inhaler
ICS= inhaled corticosteroids
What is domiciliary oxygen therapy? Who is it for?
Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation
Patients with PaCo2 <8 kPa
Must have stopped smoking
Must be breated for > 15hrs/day for improve mortaility
Describe the main types of research studies employed in medical research
Observational studies
- Case control
- Cohort
- Cross sectional
Experimental studies
-Randomised and non-randomised trials
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of case study, series or report
Advantages- Quick, cheap, rapid publication, early indicators of problems, can help detects new drug side effects and potential uses
Disadvantages- Statistically weak, no control group, very small numbers of patients, cases may not be generalizable to the wider population
What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross sectional surveys?
Advantages- Cheap, simple, ethically café, useful for planning surposes
Disadvantages- Cause/effect, volunteer bias, unequal distribution of confounders
Usually descriptive studies which may show an association between exposure and outcome
Complications of cross sectional surveys?
Confounders: Uncontrolled extraneous variables
Spurious association: e.g. Is ultrasound harmful to fetus? Varying conclusions
What are the advantages and disadvantages of case controls studys?
Advantages:
- Simultaneously look at multiple risk factors
- Good for studying rare conditions
- Useful as initial studies to establish an association
Disadvantages:
- Retrospective study which relies on patient recall to determine exposure (recall bias) or patient records
- Confounders
- Selection of control group is difficult
The outcome has already occurred and data on exposure is collected from medical records or the administration of questionnaires
Advantages and disadvantages of cohort studies?
Advantages:
- Ethically safe
- Subjects can be matched
- Can show cause precedes that effect
- Easier and cheaper than a RCT
Disadvantages
- High drop out rate
- Exposure may be linked to hidden confounder
- Blinding is difficult
- Outcome of interest may take a long time to occur
Advantages and disadvantages of cohort studies?
Advantages:
- Ethically safe
- Subjects can be matched
- Can show cause precedes that effect
- Easier and cheaper than a RCT
Disadvantages
- High drop out rate
- Exposure may be linked to hidden confounder
- Blinding is difficult
- Outcome of interest may take a long time to occur
Outcome has not occurred at the start of the investigation
What is the double blind method?
Neither subjects or investigators aware
are of which treatment the subject receives
What are the different design modifiers?
Single blind: Subjects did not know which treatment they were receiving
Double blind: Neither subjects or investigators awareof which treatment subject receives
Crossover: Each subject received both the intervention and control treatment (randomly) often separated by a washout period
Placebo control: Control subjects receive placebo (inactive pill, sham operation)
Advantages and disadvantages of RCT?
Advantages:
- Unbiased distribution of confounders
- Clearly identified population
- Randomisation help statistical analysis
- More likely to be ‘blinded’
Disadvantages:
- Expensive
- Volunteer bias
- Ethical issues
What are the different design features of clinical research?
Parallel group comparison: Each group receives a different treatment
Paired (matched) comparison: Subjects are matched to balance confounders such as age and sex
Within subject comparison: Subjects assessed before and after an intervention
What are the problems associated with RCTs?
- Impossible where disease is too rare
- Unnecessary when a treatment produces a dramatic benefit
- Stopping trials early
- Resources limited due to high cost
- Generalisability (RCTs are often carried out on specific types of patients for a relatively short period of time)
What is the relevance of bias and a confounder in RCTs?
Bias: Flaw in the methodology
Confounder: Another factor which is linked to both the exposure and the outcome
Advantages and disadvantages of expert (narrative) review?
Advantages:
- Comprehensive survey
- Answer a specific question
Disadvantages:
-Expert bias
What is a systematic review?
A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question.
Considered “gold standard” due to avoidance/ minimisation of BIAS
Advantages and disadvantages of a systematic review
Advantages:
- Comprehensive analysis of all the best primary evidence using explicit and reproducible methodology
- Results can be combined and statistically analyses
- Considered an evidence-based resource and the best guide to practice
- Loss costly to review old studies than initiate a new one
Disadvantages:
- Results often disagree
- Publication bias
- Very time consuming
What is meta analysis?
Combines qualitative and quantitative study data from several selected studies to develop a single conclusion which greater statistical power
Advantages and disadvantages of meta analysis?
Advantages:
- Greater statistical power
- Greater ability to extrapolate to the general population
- Considered an evidence-based resource
Disadvantages:
- Results often disagree
- Heterogeneity of study populations
- Very time consuming
- Requires advanced statistical techniques
Define allergy
Disease following a response by the immune system to an otherwise innocuous antigen
What type of hypersensitivity does an allergy fall into?
Type I
Type I hypersensitivity:
- Immune reactant?
- Antigen?
- Effector mechanism?
- Example?
Immune reactant: IgE
Antigen: Soluble
Effector mechanism: Mast cell activation
Example: Asthma, Allergy
Type II hypersensitivity:
- Immune reactant?
- Antigen?
- Effector mechanism?
- Example?
Immune reactant: IgG
Antigen: Cell/matrix associated, cell surface receptor
Effector mechanism: Complement, FcR cells, Ab alters signalling
Example: Drugs, Chronic urticaria
Type III hypersensitivity:
- Immune reactant?
- Antigen?
- Effector mechanism?
- Example?
Immune reactant: IgG
Antigen: Soluble
Effector mechanism: Complement, phagocytes
Example: Arthus reaction
Type IV hypersensitivity:
- Immune reactant?
- Antigen?
- Effector mechanism?
- Example?
Immune reactant: Th1, Th2, CTL
Antigen: Soluble, cell-antigen
Effector mechanism: Macrophage activation, eosinophil activation, cytotoxicity
Example: Contact, Chronic asthma
Allergy is Ig_ mediated, and always occurs on
_______ exposure to an allergen, so an initial
_______ event has always taken place.
Allergy is IgE mediated, and always occurs on
SECONDARY exposure to an allergen, so an initial
EXPOSURE event has always taken place.
List the following immunoglobulins in order of highest serum level to lowest?
IgG > IgM > IgA > IgD > IgE
ie serum IgE levels are normally very low
Allergy occurs when IgE triggers what?
Allergy occurs when IgE triggers MAST CELL DEGRANULATION
5 mechanisms of IgE production
- IgE produced by plasma B cells in lymph nodes (or locally at the site of inflammation)
- IgE located mostly in tissue (hence low serum
concentration), bound to Mast Cell surface through high affinity IgE receptor - Certain antigens and routes of delivery appear to
favour IgE production. Transmucosal at low doses
is often a common route. - CD4+ T cells of the Th2 phenotype that produce
IL4 cytokines favour IgE responses - Th2 T cells force B cells to switch the isotype of the Ig they secrete from IgM to IgE
What different molecules are produced by the following effector t cells:
- CD8 cytotoxic
- CD4 Th1
- CD4 Th2
CD8 Cytotoxic:
- Produces IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha
- ->Targets cell lysis
CD4 Th1
- Produces IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, GM-CSF
- ->Macrophage activation
CD4 Th2
- Produced IL4, IL5 (cytokines)
- ->B cell activation
What does GM-CSF mean?
Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
As cytokine (Cytokines are a category of signaling molecules that mediate and regulate immunity, inflammation and hematopoiesis.)
Common allergens (inhaled/injected/ingested/contacted)?
Inhaled: Plant pollens, Mold spores, Faeces of very small animals
Injected: Insect venoms, vaccines, drugs, therapeutic proteins
If an allergen induces degranulation further down the airway this results in ____
Allergic asthma
Allergic asthma features?
Bronchial constriction
Increased secretion of fluid and mucus = trapping inhaled air
-Chronic inflammation may ensue with continued presence of Th2 T cells, eosinophils, neutrophils
-Chronic asthma resulting in hyperreactive airways due to other irritants (e.g. cigarette smoke)
Clinical features of skin allergy
Allergens entering at skin sites cause RASHES
Wheal and flare due to vasodilation after Mast cell degranulation
Diffuse oedema present 8hrs later due to influx of lymphocytes attracted by chemokines
Ingested allergens reaction symptoms?
If allergen enters bloodstream?
Severe cases features?
2 main symptoms:
- Activation of GI mast cells results in transepithelial fluid loss and smooth muscle contraction
- -> DIARRHOEA and VOMITING
If allergen enters bloodstream –> generalised disseminated rash, urticaria, hives
In severe cases of food allergy, life threatening generalised anaphylaxis and CV collapse may occur
What are the chemical mediators of allergic responses?
Mast cells granules (contain wide range of inflammatory mediators) Lipids Toxic mediators Cytokines Enzymes
Role of lipids in allergic responses?
Prostaglandins -Increase vascular permeability -Increase body temp Platelet activating factor -Increase adhesion between endothelium and neutrophils Leukotrienes -Attract and activate neutrophils -Increase vasc permeability
Role of toxic mediators in allergic response?
Histamine -Increases vascular permeability -Promotes fluid movement from vasculature by vasoconstriction Heparin -Inhibits coagulation
Role of cytokines in allergic response?
IL4, IL13 = Amplify Th2 response
Il3, Il5, GM-CSF = Promotes eosinophil activation and production
TNF-alpha = Pro-inflammatory, activates endothelium
Chemokine MIP-1alpha = Attracts macrophages and neutrophils
Treatment to prevent allergy
Two main types: Desensitisation and blockage of effector pathways
Aim: Shift response from IgE dominated to IgG dominated
Method: Patient injected with escalating doses of allergen leading to gradual shift from Th2 to Th1 T cells
Blocking agents: Anti-histamines in H1 receptor blocking.
Extra: Topical or systemic corticosteroids to supress chronic inflammation in asthma and rhinitis
Treatment of severe anaphylaxis
Treatment: Epinephrine (adrenaline) injection via Epi/Ana-pen
Results in smooth muscle contraction of BV = broncho dilation
0.15mg dose for children, 0.3mg dose for adult. Delivered in thigh. Second dose if no signs of improvement within 10-15mins
Why are economically developed societies more prone to allergies?
Early childhood exposure to Th1 inducing pathogen may prevents bias towards Th2 responses later.
This process is blocked in more hygienic environments hence more allergies present.
What is resistance?
Intrinsic vs acquired resistance?
When a previously susceptible organism is no longer inhibited by an antibiotic at levels clinically safe achievable concentrations
Acquired resistance= Occurs when a previously susceptible strain/species develops an increase in MIC that takes it beyond the therapeutic range.
Intrinsic resistance =When all strains of a species are resistant
What is intermediate resistance?
Resistance that can be treated with an increase from the standard dose
What is therapeutic index?
The difference between treatment dose and dose necessary to cause harm