Acute Exacerbation of Asthma - Case Study Essay

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.

Task analysis is the process of obtaining information about a job by determining the duties, tasks, and activities involved and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required in performing each task. There can be broken down into six

The patient is a 72-year-old female who arrived to the emergency department in cardiac arrest. Emergency medical services reports the patient was last seen eating breakfast at her nursing home and was found an hour later face down and unresponsive. After it was determined the patient was in asystole, an intravenous catheter was started and two rounds of Epinephrine was administered. Upon arrival to the emergency department the patient had pulseless electrical activity with sinus tachycardia on the monitor. Airway management was in process with a bag valve mask on 100% oxygen and chest compressions in progress. After intubation and stabilization the

Pamela was seen today following her trial of Alvesco and her stress myocardial perfusion scan. Reassuringly, the stress myocardial perfusion scan was normal showing godd ventricular function and no obvious evidence of ischemic heart disease.

Amy Parsons is a 16-year-old who states that she has periods when she experiences severe coughing described as dry, hacking, and non-productive. Amy reports shortness of breath and cough after swimming during summers and cough along with occasional wheezing during fall and winter months when she swims competitively. She has no known allergies, no history of surgeries or hospitalizations, and no chronic illnesses. Amy’s physical exam is unremarkable but she reports four to five colds per year. The test results for Amy’s the peak expiratory flow rates (PEF) are as follow: 290/310/320 with her predicted at 453. The following paragraphs will identify and explain the pathophysiology involved in Amy’s case.

During the clinical experience, I was able to care for a patient with the diagnosis of adult onset asthma. J. D. was a twenty-year-old with a one-year history of mild persistent asthma. His body mass index was 30, and he was a former 1/2 pack per day smoker for one year. Also, other lifestyle factors included social alcohol drinking (1-2 drinks per/day) over the last year since he moved out on his own. He did not regularly exercise, and he admitted to not using his daily Qvar. He lives with a roommate that does smoke in the apartment. His sister was the only family member with asthma and was diagnosed in childhood. He was being treated with a low dose inhaled daily corticosteroid (Qvar 80 mcg/daily) and a short-acting

“Sarah is at Children's Hospital, in the ICU”. Those are the words that changed my life. Sarah is extremely sick and it's making me want to be smart, strong, and kind. My sister, Sarah had lung failure when she was in 7th grade, she was hospitalized and stayed at Children’s Hospital in the ICU for around a week. Nearly a year later they found out what was wrong with her, she has Chronic Eosinophilic Pneumonia and Severe Asthma. When I saw her get sick I saw her being strong, nice, and keeping up on school work she made me want to have these qualities as well.

1.2. During an asthma attack, the air passages become narrow, their surrounding muscles tighten, and stickier mucus is produced. Patients experience symptoms like coughing, wheezing, chest tightening and breathlessness. Severe asthma attack can cause restriction of oxygen into the lungs and bloodstream (British Lungs Foundation, 2014). This can be dangerous and life threatening if immediate medical treatment is not received. Asthma symptoms are usually severe at night (NHS Choice, 2014). This can disturb patient’s sleep and can affect their behaviour and concentration. Asthma can also affect the patient ability to do physical exercises as well as their daily routine.

People experiencing very severe and life-threatening asthma gasp for breath, become blue, cannot talk at all and sometimes collapse to the ground. An ambulance (000) should be called immediately and

Asthma is one of the most common health problems in the United States that can not only affect patients' lives, at school or work, but also creates a significant burden on society. Diagnosis and management of asthma has traditionally been accomplished by clinical, exam, pulmonary function testing and patients perceived level of symptoms. The key factor in asthma is airway inflammation. Until recently, airway inflammation was very difficult to evaluate. It usually required invasive procedures that in some instances would not give us a complete answer. Without a knowledge of airway inflammation, clinicians can over or underestimate the severity of asthma and in turn may not provide the most effective

A 7-month-old infant presents with a cough. The parent of the infant Mrs. Tomran is concerned about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A detailed history was conducted for the infant. It indicated the coughing mainly happens during the night and increases when crying occurs. The infant is noted to have a history of eczema with an extensive episode a few months ago. She is also noted to have an ear infection 3 months ago with an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin used for treatment. There are individuals that suffer and are being treated for a variety of different respiratory disorders. The type of cough that this 7 month old infant girl is experiencing a respiratory disorder, more specifically the underlying alteration that can be associated with it is asthma.

This pharmacology assignment seeks to answer two question from a given scenario (appendix I), therefore, it would be divided into “Part A” and “Part B”. To achieve this, “Part A” will discuss the relevant patho-physiology of an acute asthma exacerbation and “Part B” will discuss the relevant pharmacology and management issues of 3 drugs that were used in the treatment of Cora (Psuedonym, NMC 2015), including their pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. The role of the nurse in care of the asthmatic patient and the impacts of the nursing care of acute asthma will be highlighted and a conclusion drawn.

Breathing is a vital process for every human. Normal breathing is practically effortless for most people, but those with asthma face a great challenge. During an asthma attack, breathing is hampered, making it difficult or even impossible for air to flow through the lungs. Asthma is an increasingly common problem, and has become the most common chronic childhood disease. At least 17 million Americans suffer from it(1), and although it can be fatal, it is usually not that severe(4). There is no cure for asthma, but with proper care, it can usually be controlled.

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by episodes in which the bronchioles constrict due to oversensitivity. In asthma, the airways (bronchioles) constrict making it difficult to get air in or out of the lungs. Breathlessness is the main symptom. The bronchi and bronchioles become inflamed and constricted. Asthmatics usually react to triggers. Triggers are substances and situations that would not normally trouble an asthma free person. Asthma is either extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic is when the inflammation in the airway is a result of hypersensitivity reactions associated with allergy (food or pollen). Intrinsic asthma is linked to hyper responsive reactions to other forms of

Therefore, assessing patients at risk for future asthma exacerbation is important. Since the long-term observational evidence in Asia regarding assessment of risk factors for fatal asthma is relatively limited, the aim of this study is to identify factors which are related to fatal asthma so that patients with high risks can be identified and be given appropriate intervention.Patients who had more than one asthma-associated hospitalization in the prior year, comorbidities such as septicemia, pneumonia, genitourinary disease, arrhythmia, diabetes mellitus and medical treatment with high dose of OCS increased the risk of fatal asthma