Acute Asthma

In an emergency situation, why is a drug most commonly delivered via injection versus an oral route?

This assignment is a case study of a patient who was admitted to a respiratory ward with acute exacerbation of asthma. This assignment will discuss nursing an adult patient with asthma, also it will aim to critically assess, plan, implement and evaluate the patients nursing needs using the Roper, Logan and Tierney nursing model (1980). This case study will focus on the maintaining a safe environment. It is worth noting that the activities of daily living are interlinked e.g. according to Roper et al (1980) breathing is an activity that is crucial for life therefore all other activities are dependent on us being able to breathe. The nursing management, pharmacological agents and the tools used will be critically

R.J. is a 15-year-old boy with a history of asthma diagnosed at age 8. His asthma episodes are triggered by exposure to cats and various plant pollens. He has been using his albuterol inhaler 10 to 12 times per day over the last 3 days and is continuing to wheeze. He normally needs his inhaler only occasionally (2 or 3 times per week). He takes no other medications and has no other known medical conditions. Physical examination reveals moderate respiratory distress with a respiratory rate of 32, oximetry 90%, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) 60% of predicted, and expiratory wheezing.

One strategy that has shown to improve medication compliance and outcomes for patient with asthma is the provision of Asthma Action Plans (AAP). The Asthma Action Plan or AAP is widely recognized as the best tool for asthma self-management and has been demonstrated to improve outcomes for asthmatics. The AAP is a detailed plan that describes medications and treatments, how to control asthma, and how to address worsening asthma. The plan also describes when to call the doctor or go to the emergency room. The plan breaks down the severity of symptoms and treatment by color helping those with limited language skills and low health literacy the ability to understand the asthma treatment plan. (Nepaul et al.,

Asthma is a respiratory disease that many people deal with every single day. “According to World Health Organization, approximately 180,000 people die from asthma each year.” (Jardins and Burton 187) Most people never think of asthma as a life threatening disease, but it can be crucial. As the number of people with asthma increases, the more likely you are to come in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with this disease. Asthma is a severe breathing problem that has many complications that is dealt with daily like shortness of breath, chronic cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath, my main focus is childhood asthma, allergic asthma, and medication to treat asthma.

It is still the healthcare provider’s prerogative whether to utilize these guidelines or use an individualized approach, which ever works for the patient. I personally would utilize the stepwise approach first, since it is evidence-based, unless it is not working for the patient, then I would utilize an individualized approach. In addition, identifying trigger factors specific to the patient is vital in minimizing symptoms and exacerbations. A diary or log to note what type of activity, foods eaten, weather condition, presence of pollen, dust, smoke precipitates an attack would help in preventing future attacks by avoiding said factors. Nonpharmacological treatment would include stress reduction techniques, since high levels of stress has been cited as a trigger factor for some asthmatic patients. Preventive measures like, getting vaccinated, avoid smoking, and avoiding trigger factors can make a significant impact in asthma control. Making the patient actively involved in the management of the condition have a better chance of controlling

Asthma is a chronic condition affecting the respiratory system and has a considerable impact on both individuals and a population. Everybody is susceptible to asthma, some more than others, depending of a variety of factors including, age, sex, geographical location and income. Asthma is particularly prevalent in younger children and the elderly and while it can be fatal, most people have mild cases of asthma that are relatively easy to treat. The condition mainly impacts an individual’s physical ability to contribute to a community.

Asthma triggers and response to medications does not affect individuals in the same ways. Moreover it is not always simple to manage due to its affectability on people on age, sex and ethnic background (Cockett,2003). However, specialist nurse can achieve a successful outcome by ensuring that management plans are tailored to suit each patients/clients needs.

A screening template can be developed that can assist the nurse in performing a thorough assessment of an asthmatic patient. This questionnaire should be at an appropriate education level and question should be simple and direct. The questions should focus on the presence or absence of symptoms, activity limitations, exacerbations, missed workdays, and frequency of use of prescribed medications.

Ref: ([Guideline] Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR-3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma-Summary Report 2007. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007 Nov. 120(5 Suppl):S94-138.)

A task force begins identifying asthma as one of the four, priority areas seeking immediate attention. The plan put together was called: Asthma and the Environment; a Strategy to Protect Children. In addition, to 5 other strategy ways that are called: strengthening and acceleration, implementation, establishment of coordination, and identification. These factors were later changed around 1999, making the task force remap a new strategy. This strategy improvised more questions, so the task team had to explain the cost of asthma. Next, was understand the primary reason for preventing the asthma rate to decrease. Studies were shown from National Health Interview Survey and Medical Expenditures Panel Survey that asthma has one of the most, common chronic condition among children’s

We spoke with an emergency medicine physician about his experiences with asthma. He told us that he sees multiple patients for asthma related incidents each day. If children have more moderate or severe asthma they typically have an asthma action plan and use a peak flow meter to decide whether they should go to the hospital. He also told us that asthma attacks are very obvious when they come into the ER so they don’t typically do much testing to make sure that it is an asthma attack. Lastly, he told us they do not diagnose asthma in the ER, but rather refer them back to their primary care physician after their ER visit.

3. What components of the patient’s asthma management plan should be monitored during a home visit?

Asthma is a chronic disease in which the airways of the patient become inflammed and can constrict the flow of air leading to difficulty in breathing and can cause symptoms like shortness of breath .In recent times there has been a rise in the number of cases of asthma reported among infants and children .The symptoms and signs for all children are not the same and may differ ,today with the growing pollution levels and the other types of allergies that the child may have it is very crucial to understand what is asthma and it's symptoms .The aim of my study is to summarize about the asthma disease in infants and children, under that I have discussed the following topics-introduction to pediatric asthma ,indications of asthma, risk factors

Asthma is a chronic airway disease that can be difficult to manage, resulting in poor outcomes and high costs (Kuhn et al., 2015). It is characterized by episodes of expiratory airflow obstruction, which occurs in response to multiple stimuli or triggers. Asthma is a lifelong disease, and symptoms include wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Attacks can be mild, moderate, severe, or even life threatening and limit a person’s way of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2011). There is no known cure for asthma, but symptoms can be controlled by avoiding the triggers and taking prescribed medicines that prevent or minimize symptoms.