Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a life-threatening condition in which fluid collects in the lungs. This condition can cause severe shortness of breath and low oxygen levels in the blood. It can also cause the lungs and other vital organs to fail. The condition usually develops within 24 to 48 hours of an infection, illness, surgery, or injury.
CAUSES
This condition may be caused by:
An infection, such as sepsis or pneumonia.
A serious injury to the head or chest.
A major surgery.
A drug overdose.
Breathing in harmful chemicals or smoke.
Large amounts of blood transfusions.
A blood clot in the lungs.
SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of this condition include:
Fever.
Respiratory Therapy is a health profession that specializes in Cardio Pulmonary functions and health. Respiratory therapists help with prevention, assessing patients, treatment, diagnostic evaluation, education, and care. They treat patients from all ages, from babies to the elderly. The requirements in becoming a Respiratory Therapist are taking Human Anatomy, Chemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Mathematics at a high school or college level. To begin the Respiratory Therapy Program out of high school you have to have a C or better in Chemistry, Anatomy, Algebra 2 minimum, and English. If these courses were not taken in high school, they would need to be taken at the college level to complete the prerequisites to apply for
1. A physician is called to the intensive care unit to provide care for a patient who received second- and third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body due to a chemical fire. The patient is in respiratory distress and is suffering from severe dehydration. The physician provides support for two hours. Later that day the physician returns and provides an additional hour of critical care support to the patient.
The following case study is of a 37-year old Hispanic male weighing 145 lbs and 70 inches tall found unconscious by his girlfriend. According to her he was unconscious for about 15 hours and she was concerned because he would not wake or respond and was breathing shallow and slow. She then called 9-1-1. The patient entered the ER by emergency vehicle and on my initial assessment Pt had an altered mental status, was very unresponsive showing symptoms of a possible drug overdose. The girlfriend told the physician the Pt had taken 75 mg of methadone and an unknown amount of Xanex and other amounts of Benzodiazepines. On assessment, the doctor noticed his altered mental status and unconscious status. He had a gag
Respiratory Therapist is a healthcare worker who treats people with breathing problems.Those patients can be premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed and adults and children who have lung diseases such as asthma.This job requires you to have a certification by National board for Respiratory,they also require an associate's degree and some have bachelor's degree.There are approximately 105900 people employed as a Respiratory Therapists.They earn up to 58,670 per year and get paid at least 28.21 per hour.
Forty-nine states require licensing.In order to take the entry-level examination for certification, which is required by the National Board for Respiratory Care, respiratory students must get at least an associate's degree and a certificate of completion. Respiratory therapists are licensed in all states except Alaska; requirements vary in different states. Many colleges and universities, vocational–technical institutes, and the Armed Forces offer education and training programs. Most programs will award RT’s with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.All programs have clinical classes that allow therapists to earn credit and gain supervised experience treating patients. According to the American Association for Respiratory Care, there are 381 associate programs throughout the country, 57 bachelor’s degree programs and three master’s programs(home) (business) (explore).
By entering the field of respiratory therapy, one is entering a growing field of opportunity. There are continually emergent job opportunities in this field whereas there is also a rise of growth in the technology and developments in the field such as medicines, techniques, and other aspects.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurs when fluid builds up in the tiny, elastic air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs. More fluid in your lungs means less oxygen can reach your bloodstream. This deprives your organs of the oxygen they need to function.
The American Association for Respiratory Care is a non-profit organization which provides numerous resources for registered respiratory therapists all over the United States. Membership through the AARC renders an abundance of incentives such as professional development, respiratory care education, social networking opportunities, continuing education programs and much more. The American Association for Respiratory Care truly believes in the cause of respiratory therapy and in the rights of their patients to receive competent respiratory care. Their advocacy team works with local, state and federal governments concerning public policies that affect their patients as well as their profession.
According to the American Lung Association, “Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a rapidly progressive disease occurring in critically ill patients.” ARDS is an extreme manifestation of a lung injury that can be associated with an acute medical problem. This occurs as a result of direct or indirect trauma to the lungs. With nearly 200,000 cases in the United States each year, ARDS is not extremely common (“Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome”). Most people who acquire this disease are critically ill patients within the hospital. The most common predisposing medical problems of ARDS consist of: shock, trauma, pulmonary infections, sepsis, aspiration, and cardiopulmonary bypass (Ignatavicious, 2013). ARDS is a severe syndrome and even with prompt and aggressive medical treatment, almost fifty percent of those diagnosed do not survive. Those who survive have a longer hospital stay along with recurring hospital admissions throughout their lifetime (“Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome”). Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a rapidly progressive disease which requires thorough assessment, rapid diagnosis, and emergency treatment measures in order to successfully respond to the disease process.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS, is the abrupt collapse of the respiratory system. It can advance in anyone 1 year and older who is critically ill. An individual with ARDS has accelerated breathing, difficulty getting adequate air into the lungs and decreased blood oxygen levels. ARDS normally develops in people who have major injuries or already ill with another disease. ARDS is usually a hospital acquired disease. ARDS is normally grouped with an almost indistinguishable condition called acute lung injury, but people with ARDS have much decreased oxygen in their blood, the condition is more dangerous. ALI can progress into ARDS if the oxygen levels continue to decrease.
The disease that I got this time is Collapsed Lung. The cause of this is either an injury that would puncture the lung or from air blisters that form in the lung bursting. Some common characteristics or symptoms are shortness of breath and chest/ upper body pain. What is happening chemically there is a puncture/opening in the lung that causes air to escape out and get caught between the chest wall and lung. The extra air in this space doesn't allow the lung to expand as much as it should. People who smoke or are tall and thin are more likely to have this happen to them. To diagnose the disease doctors will listen to your breathing with a stethoscope to see if there are any breathing sounds or a shortness of breathing coming from one of your
Name of Diagnosis – ARDS is essentially fluid in your alveoli which is the thick elastic that builds up in your lungs. It is typically what helps keeps your lungs from filling up when adequate amount of air is being expelled, which results in less oxygen entering your bloodstream. Likewise, ARDS normally occurs in incidents where a particular individual may shows signs of shortness of breath or individuals who may be severely sick. The patients who are more prone to ARDS are those who experience a fatal injury of some sort or an infection.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by ventilation and perfusion mismatching that leads to hypoxic respiratory failure. Ashbaugh and colleagues first defined it in 1967 when they described 12 patients with severe acute respiratory failure (Ferguson et al., 2012). “These patients had severe hypoxemia that was refractory to supplemental oxygen, but which in some cases was responsive to the application of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP)” (Ferguson et al., 2012, p. 1574). Autopsy also revealed widespread pulmonary inflammation, edema and hyaline membranes (Ferguson et al., 2012).
SARS, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome was first found in Foshan, Guangdong in November of 2002. SARS is a very new and rare disease. SARS was officially recognized as a threat by the World Health Organization in March of 2003. This outbreak was the only one ever recorded of its type, up until the recent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Scientists recognized SARS as a variation of the coronavirus. In humans, the typical coronavirus is one of the many that cause the common cold. In livestock, the virus is found to create serious and fatal diseases. Scientists believe that this variation of the coronavirus originated from civets and the Horseshoe bat. Corona viruses are known for their ability to mutate in order to spread among humans.
Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is a common lung disorder that mostly affects preterm infants. RDS is caused by insufficient surfactant production and structural immaturity of the lungs leading to alveolar collapse. Clinically, RDS presents soon after birth with tachypnea, nasal flaring, grunting, retractions, hypercapnia, and/or an oxygen need. The usual course is clinical worsening followed by recovery in 3 to 5 days as adequate surfactant production occurs. Research in the prevention and treatment of this disease has led to major improvements in the care of preterm infants with RDS and increased survival. However, RDS remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in the most preterm infants. This chapter reviews the most current evidence-based management of RDS, including prevention, delivery room stabilization, respiratory management, and supportive care.