COPD and Pneumonia Flashcards
(113 cards)
What is the pack year life calculation?
- number of packs smoked/ day X amount of years smokes
what are risk factors for COPD?
- smoking
- increased with number of pack years, 40 pack year strong indicator
- fumes
- organic/ inorganic dusts
- heredity
- aging
- lung infections
What is the most important risk factor for developing COPD?
smoking
What are early signs of COPD?
- morning cough
- increased production of mucous/ sputum
- breathlessness with exertion
What are not early signs of COPD?
- chest pain
- hemoptysis
- barrel chest
what test provides the best indication that a client is experiencing a persistent airflow limitation?
pulmonary function tests including FEV1/ FVC
What do pulmonary function tests do?
- determine how well lungs work
- measure
- lung volume
- capacities
- rate of flow
- gas exchange
when testing for COPD respiratory therapists start by administering what? What does this do?
- administer bronchodilator
- gets rid of any reversible airflow restriction (asthma)
Healthy peoples FEV1/FVC should be what?
80% or more out of lungs in first second
a pulmonary function test calculates 2 values what are they? describe them
- FEV1
- forced expiratory volume in 1 second
- total amount of air forcefully blown out of lungs in first second of exhalation - FVC
- forced vital capacity
- total amount of air forcefully blown out of lungs after deep breath
How is someone diagnosed with COPD using pulmonary function tests?
- decreased FVC and FEV1
- hard time getting air out of lungs
- longer FEV1 decreases even more than FVC (ration <70% someone is diagnosed)
What are some reasons for people with COPD having difficulty exhaling?
- decreased elasticity of lungs (hard to push air out)
- blocked air flow due to increased mucous production/ inflammation in airways
- barrel chest
describe restrictive lng disease
- person has trouble getting air IN lungs
- lungs restricted from expanding fully
What are some examples of restrictive lung disease?
- large pleural effusion
- neuromuscular disease (ALS)
- ascites
What is ascites?
fluid in abdomen prevents lungs from expanding
describe chronic bronchitis
- type of COPD
- characterized by productive cough for 3+ months in each of 2 successive years
- mainly affects small airways
- refers to inflammation of the bronchi
describe inflammation of bronchi in regards to chronic bronchitis
- inflammation irritates airways
- causes production of thick, sticky mucous that can block airways
- causes swelling in airways narrows space > makes more difficult for air to pass
describe emphysema
- type of COPD
- characterized by permanent enlargement of airspaces with destruction of airspace walls
- affects alveoli in lungs
describe how alveoli are affected by emphysema
- alveoli become damaged
- individual alveoli merge together
- causes one large air sac with less surface area for gas exchange
- large air sacs less elastic don’t want to shrink back to normal shape
- start acting like pillow cases > hard to get air out of lungs
some large emphysematous air sacs are what? What can happen?
- are weak and easy to tear
- can cause air to leak into pleural space causing pneumothorax
describe COPD
- respiratory disorder mainly caused by smoking
- progressive
- non-reversible
- cannot be cured
- leads to structural changes in lungs and chest
- causes reduced airflow/ collapse of small airways
describe asthma
- not a type of COPD
- airways are twitchy (hyper-responsive)
- caused by inflammation
- key features > episodic, reversible with treatment
what are characteristics of asthma
- airway inflammation with recurrent episodes of wheezing
- breathlessness
- chest tightness
- coughing
what can trigger asthma?
- allergens
- exercise
- infections
- cold/ dry air
- many other things