CCC Respiratory Flashcards
What conditions can make someone breathless in seconds?
Pneumothorax
PE
Foreign bodies
What conditions can make someone breathless in hours?
Airway inflammation/obstruction Chest infection (pus) Acute heart failure (fluid)
What conditions can make someone breathless in days/weeks?
Hours answer but chronic
Interstitial lung disease
Malignancy/large pleural effusion
Neuromuscular
Anaemia/thyrotoxicosis
How do we manage pneumothorax?
Primary PT
<2cm discharge and repeat CXR (some air can be resorbed)
>2cm aspiration – chest drain if unsuccessful
Secondary to a condition PT
<2cm aspiration
>2cm chest drain
patients may present after with SOB due to reexpansion pulmonary oedema
What does this chest XRAY show?
right-sided pneumothorax
How do we determine if there is left or right axis deviation on an ECG?
- Look at I and II, is either of them overall negative? If yes, axis deviation.
- Look at avL: is it overall position
Yes? left axis (therefore LBBB)
No? right axis
How would we treat a PE?
LMWH
Thrombolysis is only used if patient is haemodynamic compromise – high bp
(relates to LBBB and RBBB because these may show on ecg in PE)
What does this CXR show?
Large PE
What does this CXR and CT show?
Large bullae! Shows up in CT
What does this CXR show? (has dry cough, clubbing, progressive SOB, FEV1/FVC ratio >70%)
Pulmonary fibrosis – reticular nodular shadowing – the lines and dots present
Could also be asbestosis, connective tissue disease, drugs
(AKA fibrosing alveolitis)
What does this CXR show? (chronic sob, sputum, <70% ratio)
COPD, hyperexpansion
This patient has a cough, sputum, weight loss and night sweats?
Tuberculosis – consolidation in right upper lobe
70 year old with SOB that keeps pigeons, what’s the problem?
Allergic alveolitis! (reticular nodular pulmonary fibrosis again)
How to present a CXR?
This is a PA/AP CXR of
Name and DOB
Taken on (DATE)
At (TIME)
Quality of film - rotation, inspiration, penetration
Different types of opacities on CXR?
- Interstitial/alveolar shadowing (fluffy in heart failure or pneumonia)
- Reticulo-nodular shadowing (lines and dots)
- Homogenous shadowing (pleural effusion)
- Masses/cavitations