A. COPD and Its Symptoms
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, advancing, and severe lung disease that is characterized by persistent limitation in the flow of air making it hard to ventilate. Patients exhibit extensive dyspnea, chronic cough, and excessive production of sputum. Chronic airflow limitation inherent of COPD results from long-term inhalation of respiratory tract irritants, such as cigarette smoke, resulting in an abnormal inflammatory response in the tract. Inflammation causes the bronchial smooth muscle to contract leading to bronchoconstriction. This makes ventilation very difficult. When inflammation goes unchecked it develops further and causes structural alteration and narrowing of the ventilation tract and destruction of the lung tissue where gaseous exchange occurs (De SErres, 2002, p. 21).
The term COPD is used to replace two conditions Chronic bronchitis and Emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is caused by inflammation of and narrowing of the bronchi as a result of continued irritation of the epithelia lining of this airways. It is characterized by presence of thick mucus which makes ventilation uncomfortable. A cough with thick sputum production is also present for at least three months. Emphysema caused by extensive damage to the alveoli leading to lose of their shape and elasticity which impairs their mechanism of recoil during expiration and or destruction of the walls of the air sacs. There is no cure for COPD. However, treatments can help manage the disease.
COPD symptoms initially do not manifest themselves openly and are usually unnoticeable. As the condition progresses first from a ‘phlegmy’ cough or breathlessness most people cannot tell their general practitioner, but treatment shou...
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...pes and the function of quantitative imaging in assessment and reclassification of COPD. The combined study of COPD and emphysema is projected to give insights into systemic co-morbidities i.e. abnormities in body composition and osteoporosis.
Recent article has been published from the Mayo Clinic that mindfulness has decreased the number of hospital admissions and also decreased the number of stays a patient may have as an inpatient. About seventy percent of the cost of COPD is related to hospitalization, and typically common within order adults. Mindfulness has origins in 2,500-year-old Buddhist traditions. The idea of mindfulness is to become aware of every moment you make, and to pay attention to everything you are sensing and feeling. It has shown over in hundred scientific studies that the way we think can have a significant effect in our physical conditions.
R.S.’s clinical findings as a consequence of his chronic bronchitis are likely to include: being overweight, experiencing shortness of breath on exertion, producing excessive amount of sputum, having a chronic productive cough, as well as edema and hypervolemia just to name a few. (Copstead & Banasik, 548) Some of these signs and symptoms would be different if R.S. had emphysematous COPD. In emphysema (or “pink puffers”), there is weight loss, the cough is absent or negligible, and edema is not present. While central cyanosis and jugular vein distention are present in late chronic bronchitis, these pathologic manifestations are absent in emphysema. . (Copstead & Banasik, 549)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in this assignment will be referred to as COPD; it is a term for collective chronic lung conditions
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD is a group of progressive lung diseases that block airflow and make it hard to breathe. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the most common types of COPD (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p 557). Primary symptoms include coughing, mucus, chest pain, shortness of breath, and wheezing (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p.557). COPD develops slowly and worsens over time if not treated during early stages. The disease has no cure, but medication and disease management can slow its progress and make one feel better (NIH, 2013)
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD, is a disease that affects a person’s ability to breathe normal. COPD is a combination of two major lung diseases: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Bronchitis affects the bronchioles and emphysema affects the alveoli.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is preventable disease that has a detrimental effects on both the airway and lung parenchyma (Nazir & Erbland, 2009). COPD categorises emphysema and chronic bronchitis, both of which are characterised by a reduced maximum expiratory flow and slow but forced emptying of the lungs (Jeffery 1998). The disease has the one of the highest number of fatalities in the developed world due to the ever increasing amount of tobacco smokers and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality (Marx, Hockberger & Walls, 2014). Signs and symptoms that indicate the presence of the disease include a productive cough, wheezing, dyspnoea and predisposing risk factors (Edelman et al., 1992). The diagnosis of COPD is predominantly based on the results of a lung function assessment (Larsson, 2007). Chronic bronchitis is differentiated from emphysema by it's presentation of a productive cough present for a minimum of three months in two consecutive years that cannot be attributed to other pulmonary or cardiac causes (Marx, Hockberger & Walls, 2014) (Viegi et al., 2007). Whereas emphysema is defined pathologically as as the irreversible destruction without obvious fibrosis of the lung alveoli (Marx, Hockberger & Walls, 2014) (Veigi et al., 2007).It is common for emphysema and chronic bronchitis to be diagnosed concurrently owing to the similarities between the diseases (Marx, Hockberger & Walls, 2014).
The patient in discussion has a past diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with a history of environmental and personal risk factors that contributed to his diagnosis. COPD is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that affects gas exchange and oxygenation of all tissues. A common complication is cardiac failure (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2016, p. 558). A thorough assessment combined with laboratory and diagnostic tests will determine the appropriate nursing interventions and treatment to ensure patient X.X. receives the highest level of care. This case study outlines the progression of the patient’s hospitalization and subsequent care.
Parker, Steve. "Chronic Pulmonary Diseases." The Human Body Book. New ed. New York: DK Pub., 2007.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the obstruction of airflow in the lungs that is not reversible. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, which is the chronic inflammation of the bronchioles where extra fluids are produced as well as a cough, and emphysema, which is larger air spaces in the lungs due to loss of airway walls. About one in every twenty patients will have COPD, with 70% of them being above the age of 45. Typically, the main cause of COPD is smoking, which accounts for nearly 90% of all COPD related deaths. The inhaled smoke irritates the mucosa of the lungs, which causes inflammation that then damages the mucosa and blocks airways. It is not a one-time cause and effect, but happens over periods of time and exposure. The more exposure, the more likely/severe the disease will appear. COPD is characterized by a chronic cough, large amounts of sputum production, and difficulty breathing that gets worse during exercise. There is no cure for COPD, but it is possible to decrease progression by ridding of irritants like by quitting smoking. Inhaled bronchodilators are used to help manage the disease and they help by reducing mucus production and relaxing smooth muscles of the lungs.
Mrs. Jones has a history of COPD. She was already taking albuterol for her illness and it was ineffective when she took it that day. Mrs. Jones had been a smoker but had quit several years ago. According to Chojnowski (2003), smoking is a major causative factor in the development of COPD. Mrs. Jones's primary provider stated that she had a mixed type of COPD. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) was established to address the growing problem of COPD. The GOLD standards identify three conditions that contribute to the structural changes found in COPD: Chronic bronchiolitis, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. A mixed diagnosis means that the patient has a combination of these conditions (D., Chojnowski, 2003). Mrs. Jones chronically displayed the characteristic symptoms of COPD. "The characteristic symptoms are cough, sputum production, dyspnea on exertion, and decreased exercise tolerance." (D., Chojnowski, 2003, p. 27).
The symptoms may worsen with lying down in the night, and the patient may be Cyanosed in chronic bronchitis (Rice, 2012). The symptoms may be similar to those of other conditions, and the severity may depend on upon the amount of damage that has been caused to the lungs. There may be other symptoms in severe COPD such as swelling in the ankles, feet or legs with lower muscle endurance. After the doctor has explored the symptoms in a patient and diagnosed it as COPD, several treatment procedures are available depending on the severity of the condition. There are medications, surgeries and other therapies that are available for treatment of the management of the condition where I as the nurse would be involved in choosing the best of option together with the
COPD stands for chronic obstruction pulmonary disease. This disease is caused by either emphysema, chronic bronchitis or chronic asthma or in combination with each other. This is a long term disease and is the damage and narrowing of the airways. COPD can come in different forms, mild, moderate and severe.
The two common conditions that make up COPD are chronic bronchitis, which is coughing due to mucus production in the lungs. This will occurs for about 3 months within the 2 years of having COPD. The other condition is Emphysema, which is when the alveoli at the end of the bronchioles in the lungs are destroyed. Over a period of time they air sacs lose the stretching and shrinking ability. When these conditions start there are couple symptoms that will start to occur.
Smith, B. M. (2014, January). Pulmonary Emphysema Subtypes on Computed Tomography: The MESA COPD Study. doi:DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.09.020)
...r illness causes them (). Service users expect respect and sensitivitiy as well as competent treatment and practical support. Nurses must be willing to engage with patients with effective therapeutic communication as well as demonstrating the 6 C’s (). It is evident that nutritional and fluid intake is important for COPD sufferers. It is a long term condition, so enabling people with the condition to self manage and to be educated about the importance of their health choices (By implementing a nursing model or theory and following the cycle of ASPIRE, it would seem impossible for the primary carer to not treat Mr B holistically. Every aspect of his life is affected by his COPD and by evaluating and backing up the care plan with evidence based practice, being in partnership with Mr B every step of the way, he would be able to get the help he needs.
The clinical manifestation one may see in patients with chronic bronchitis are chronic cough, weight loss, excessive sputum, and dyspnea. Chronic cough is from the body trying to expel the excessive mucus build up to return breathing back to normal. Dyspnea is from the thickening of the bronchial walls causing constriction, thereby altering the breathing pattern. This causes the body to use other surrounding muscles to help with breathing which can be exhausting. These patients ca...