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Respiratory Emergencies Flashcards

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1
Q

What position is the patient in when found struggling to breathe?

A

Tripod position

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2
Q

What are the key signs observed in the patient?

A

Pale extremities, flushed face, cyanosis

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3
Q

What are the assessment and treatment priorities for a patient with respiratory distress?

A

Airway management, oxygenation, ventilation

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4
Q

What are some alternative ways to obtain a patient’s medical history if they cannot provide much information?

A

Review medical records, ask family members, check for medical alert bracelets

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5
Q

What does the upper airway include?

A
  • Nares
  • Turbinates
  • Mouth and oropharynx
  • Gag reflex
  • Larynx
  • Epiglottis
  • Cricoid cartilage
  • Cricothyroid membrane
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6
Q

What are common symptoms seen in the patient with respiratory distress?

A
  • Fever
  • Progressive weakness
  • Productive cough with thick, yellowish-green sputum
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7
Q

What are potential causes of alterations in breathing?

A
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Pneumonia
  • Emphysema
  • Guillain-Barré syndrome
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Flail chest
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8
Q

What happens during negative pressure breathing?

A

The diaphragm flattens to create a vacuum that draws air into the lungs

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9
Q

What can result from improper lung function?

A
  • Hypoxia
  • Acidosis
  • Alkalosis
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10
Q

What early sign of hypoxia may present in the brain?

A

Anxiety

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11
Q

What are some later signs of hypoxia?

A
  • Confusion
  • Lethargy
  • Coma
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12
Q

What cardiovascular changes occur due to mild hypoxemia?

A

Increased heart rate

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13
Q

How does severe hypoxia typically affect heart rate?

A

Bradycardia

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14
Q

What are signs of respiratory distress in asthma patients?

A
  • Pursed-lip breathing
  • Increased work of breathing
  • Chest-wall retractions
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15
Q

What is the purpose of assessing the degree of distress in a patient with dyspnea?

A

To evaluate the work of breathing and identify signs of respiratory failure

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16
Q

What does cyanosis indicate?

A

Low oxygen levels in the blood

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17
Q

What is the significance of the tripoding position in respiratory distress?

A

Indicates the patient is struggling to breathe and seeking comfort

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18
Q

What can be a common cause of upper airway obstruction?

A

The tongue

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19
Q

What are signs of an infected airway?

A
  • Drooling in epiglottitis
  • Seal bark cough in croup
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20
Q

What is aspiration?

A

Stomach contents invade the lungs

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21
Q

What are common findings in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

A
  • Pursed-lip breathing
  • Increased I:E ratio
  • Abdominal muscle use
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22
Q

What is the leading cause of asthma?

A

Inflammation in the bronchiole airways

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23
Q

What is a potential complication of untreated asthma?

A

Status asthmaticus

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24
Q

What is the common cause of chronic bronchitis?

A

Excessive mucus production, often due to cigarette smoking

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25
What can cause atelectasis?
Injury or damage to the chest wall or lungs
26
What are some common respiratory infections?
* Bacteria * Viruses * Fungi * Mycoplasmas * Respiratory tract vulnerable to airborn agents * Dramatic swelling * Pus-filled alveoli
27
What is the role of pulse oximetry?
Measures the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin
28
What is a serious risk associated with COPD?
Acute exacerbation leading to respiratory failure
29
What is the significance of jugular venous distention in a respiratory assessment?
May indicate right heart failure
30
What does an increase in Paco2 typically cause?
Sedative effects
31
What is the typical presentation of emphysema?
Chronic destruction of alveolar walls ## Footnote Patients are often tachypneic
32
What is the primary treatment for bronchospasm in asthma?
Bronchodilators
33
What can change in fluid balance lead to?
Heart failure
34
What is the primary symptom of pneumonia?
Productive cough
35
Where does pneumonia typically occur in the lungs?
In the lung bases, typically on only one side.
36
What is alveolar dysfunction?
A condition where alveoli are vulnerable to a number of disorders.
37
What typically triggers an acute exacerbation in patients with COPD?
Environmental changes such as weather or the inhalation of trigger substances.
38
What is atelectasis?
The collapse of alveoli and lung segments due to sickness, injury, or damage to the chest wall.
39
What are common symptoms of lung cancer?
Hemoptysis and uncontrollable coughing.
40
What is the significance of water solubility in toxic inhalations?
Highly water-soluble gases require immediate removal from contact and management with 100% supplemental oxygen.
41
What causes pulmonary edema from left-sided heart failure?
Swelling of the lungs that compromises gas exchange.
42
What is a classic danger sign of pulmonary edema?
Coughing up pink/foamy or blood-tinged sputum.
43
What characterizes acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)?
Diffuse damage to the alveoli leading to stiffening and difficulty in ventilation.
44
What is a pneumothorax?
A condition where air leaks into the chest cavity causing lung collapse.
45
What congenital condition is associated with spontaneous pneumothorax?
Marfan’s syndrome.
46
What are the signs of a pulmonary embolism?
Sudden sharp chest pain and difficulty breathing.
47
What is hypoventilation?
A condition where breathing occurs but gas exchange is impaired, leading to respiratory acidosis.
48
What can cause hypoventilation in patients?
Conditions that impair lung function, mechanics of breathing, neuromuscular function, or reduce respiratory drive.
49
What is hyperventilation?
Breathing in excess of metabolic need characterized by increased rate and depth of breath.
50
What are common symptoms of acute hyperventilation syndrome?
Numbness or tingling in hands and feet, and involuntary muscle spasms.
51
What is the first step in managing dyspnea?
Ensuring airway adequacy.
52
What is the recommended oxygen therapy for patients not breathing?
Bag-mask ventilation.
53
What are metered-dose inhalers used for?
Delivering medication to cooperative patients.
54
What do nebulizers do?
Deliver liquid medication in a fine mist.
55
What are anticholinergics used for?
Blocking parasympathetic responses and providing long-acting bronchodilation.
56
What do corticosteroids do?
Reduce bronchial swelling.
57
What is the function of antitussives?
Designed to stop a cough.
58
What effect do diuretics have on patients with pneumonia or asthma?
They can worsen the condition by reducing blood pressure.
59
What is the purpose of vasodilators like nitroglycerin?
To reduce cardiac preload and improve pulmonary edema.
60
What could happen with brain trauma?
* May depress respiratory control centers * Stroke may deprive brain of circulation * Drug overdose may depress respiratory control center
61
What may a spinal cord injury do?
May paralyze intercostal muscles
62
How can uncorrected hypoxia effect the heart rate?
May result in lethal cardiac dysrhythmias
63
What do you pulmonary arteries bring into the lungs?
Oxygen poor blood from the heart
64
What do pulmonary veins bring to the heat?
Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs
65
Mechanicial interference in a patient with respiratory distress?
* Laying a patient flat with respiratory distress * who is willing to lie flat may be acutely deteriorating.
66
The body type association with a particular pathologic condition
* Emphysema:barrel chest, muscle wasting, pursed-lip breathing * Chronic bronchitits: obese, seated * End-stage diseases: sickly appearance, rigors, chills.
67
How do you treat a bronchospasm?
Constriction of smooth muscle surrounding the larger bronchi in the lungs are treated with bronchodilators
68
How does status present?
* Status is a true life threat * Physical exhaustion * Inaudible breath sounds
69
Other causes of pneumonia?
* Streptococcus pneumoniae bacillus-most frequent cause of bacterial pneumonia * Imminocompromised- anyone who is not moving air well
70
What is acute exacerbation in pateints with COPD?
Patients will experience acute exacerbation of their condition because of enviromental changes such as weather or the inhalation of trigger substances
71
How would pulmonary edema from left sided heart failure present?
* Swelling of the lungs * Compromises gas exchanges * Coughing up pinnk/foamy or blood-tinged sputum is a classic danger sign.
72
What is actue respiratory distress syndrome?
The alveoli stiffen and become difficult to ventilate: the pulmonay capilliary permeability increases so they become leaky resulting in pulmonary edema
73
What are blebs? ## Footnote Pneumothorax
* Weak spots * Tall and thin individuals * May develop distended air pockets near the top of the lungs (apical pulmonary blebs) which can cause individuals to leak of air within the chest cavity and lung collapse that occurs for no aparent reason | congential conditions like Marfans syndrome
74
What are the conditions caused by emphysema?
* Alveolar * COR pulmonale * Polycythemia
75
COR pulmonale
Heart disease that develops secondary to a chronic lung disease, usually affecting primarily the right side of the heart.
76
What do shark fins on ETC O2 indicate?
Asthma

Respiratory Emergencies (33 decks)

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