Chronic Bronchitis : An Incurable Obstructive Lung Disease

Acute bronchitis is one of the most common diagnoses encountered in a primary care setting. It affects millions of individuals resulting in significant impact on health of patients and health care industry. Studies have shown that 90% of times acute bronchitis is caused by a virus, yet health care providers are failing to treat or manage these patients with appropriate therapies (Knutson & Braun, 2002). The focus of this paper is to review the guidelines for treatment of acute bronchitis after differentiating acute bronchitis from other common respiratory disease in terms of epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, complications and patient education. Understanding the evaluation and treatment guidelines, nurse practitioners can provide evidence-based practice for patients with acute bronchitis.

Bronchitis is the inflammation of the mucous membranes of the bronchi, the airways that carry airflow from the trachea into the lungs. The thin mucus lining of these airways can become irritated and swollen; the cells that make up the lining may leak fluids in response to the inflammation. Bronchitis most often occurs during the cold and flu season usually coupled with an upper respiratory infection. Bronchitis can be divided into two categories: acute or chronic each of which has distinct etiologies, pathologies, and therapies. I chose this condition because it seemed like an interesting topic to research on, and I am also interested in learning more

There are no cure for this disease. However, there are different treatment to prevent further deterioration of the lungs function in order to improve the quality of life of the patient by increasing capacity of their physical activity. One of the main severe complication a patient with COPD can develop is exacerbation. Increased breathlessness, increased sputum volume and purulent sputum are the signs and symptoms of exacerbation. Early detection of the signs of exacerbation can help keep the condition of the patient from worsening. The treatments of COPD mainly aims at controlling the symptoms of exacerbation such as taking inhalers. Patients who are over the age of 35 and ex-smokers with chronic cough and bronchitis are recommended to have spirometer (NICE, 2004). This is because it is possible to delay or prevent patients from developing severe case of COPD is identified before they lose their lungs functions. Oxygen therapy is another treatment for COPD as the patients with this condition has high

D.Z.is a 65-year-old man admitted to medical ward with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; emphysema). Past medical history (PMH) indicates hypertension (HTN), well managed with enalapril (Vasotec) past six years, diagnosis (Dx) of pneumonia yearly for the past three years. D.Z. appears cachectic with difficulty breathing at rest. Patient reports productive cough with thick yellow-green sputum. He seems anxious and irritable during subjective data collection. He states, he has been a 2-pack-a-day smoker for 38 years. He complains of (c/o) insomnia and

Chronic bronchitis is caused by inflammation of the lining of the bronchial tubes. These tubes carry oxygen to and from the alveoli of the lungs.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is major leading cause of morbidity and mortality in United States. There are some risk factors for COPD like age and smoking and other illnesses, often leading COPD patients to present with multiple coexisting comorbidities. COPD exacerbations and comorbidities plays a major role in the overall severity in individual’s health. The management and the medical intervention in COPD patients with comorbidities need a holistic approach. All of the health care specialists in COPD management need to work together with professionals specialized in the management of the other chronic diseases in order to provide a multidisciplinary approach to COPD patients with multiple diseases. A patient M. A. 72 years

Within the confines of this assignment, it is the hope of the author that the reader will obtain an understanding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This will be achieved by bringing the reader through the patients’ illness journey. The assignment will begin by defining COPD and briefly going through the pathophysiology and incidents of the condition. From there the reader will embark on the journey, starting with diagnosis.

For this paper, I decided to write about bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis is a respiratory disease that takes on the appearance of cystic fibrosis. It is caused by the buildup of mucous causing the airways to stretch and widen and are irreversible. (American Lung Association, 2015) I chose to write about bronchiectasis because one of my dear friends has recently been diagnosed with this respiratory disease. Jasmine Coleman was born with a rare blood disorder and as a child she was always in and out of the hospital because she was more susceptible to infections, pneumonia was the main problem. Her condition was so severe that she wasn’t expected to have lived through high school, but she is still with us today. Over time her airways have built up with mucous and she began to cough up large amounts of blood. She had undergone various testing and treatments to try to figure out what was wrong. It was only recently when she was finally diagnosed with bronchiectasis. She has only 22 percent lung function and that is mainly in her left lung for her right lung is filled with blood. She is currently on six liters of oxygen when she is out and about and two liters for when she is resting. (Times Bulletin, 2015) She may be

All over the world, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a very significant and prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality, and it is increasing with time (Hurd, 2000; Pauwels, 2000; Petty, 2000). Due to the factor of COPD being an underdiagnosed and undertreated disease, the epidemiology (Pauwels, Rabe, 2004) is about 60 to 85 % with mild or moderate COPD remaining undiagnosed (Miravitlles et al., 2009; Hvidsten et al., 2010).

The World Health Organization (WHO) (2006A) defines COPD as a disease state characterized by airflow limitation that is not wholly reversible. The airflow limitation is usually both progressive and associated with abnormal inflammatory response of the lungs to noxious particles or gases. John's chronic bronchitis is defined, clinically, as the presence of a chronic productive cough for 3 months in each of 2 successive years, provided other causes of chronic cough have been ruled out. (Mannino, 2003). The British lung Foundation (BLF) (2005) announces that chronic bronchitis is the inflammation and eventual scarring of the lining of the bronchial tubes which is the explanation for John's dyspnea. The BLF (2005) believe that when the bronchi become inflamed less air is able to flow to and from the lungs and once the bronchial tubes have been irritated over a long period of time, excessive mucus is produced. This increased sputum results from an increase in the size and number of goblet cells (Jeffery, 2001) resulting in John's excessive mucus production. The lining of the bronchial tubes becomes thickened and an irritating cough develops, (Waugh & Grant 2004) which is an additional symptoms that john is experiencing.

Bronchiolitis is defined by the textbook as, “a diffuse, inflammatory obstruction in the small airways or bronchioles occurring most commonly in children” (Heuther & McCance, 2012). It is an acute inflammatory disease of the lower respiratory tract that occurs most commonly in infants and is caused by infection with seasonal viruses such as respiratory synctial virus (RSV) (Zorc & Hall, 2010). Bronchiolitis often results from an obstruction of the small airways. It is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States (Zorc & Hall 2010) and is arguably the most common significant medical illness of childhood, with at least “1 in 7 normal infants developing symptomatic bronchiolitis in his or her first year of

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, also known as COPD, is the third leading cause of death in the United States. COPD includes extensive lungs diseases such as emphysema, non-reversible asthma, specific forms of bronchiectasis, and chronic bronchitis. This disease restricts the flow of air in and out of the lungs. Ways in which these limitations may occur include the loss of elasticity in the air sacs and throughout the airways, the destruction of the walls between air sacs, the inflammation or thickening of airway walls, or the overproduction of mucus in airways which can lead to blockage. Throughout this paper I am going to explain the main causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and ways to reduce COPD.

Basic lung hygiene is imperative for everyone diagnosed with bronchiectasis. Immunizations need to be kept up to date to help prevent infections. Patients need to remain properly hydrated to ensure mucous secretions stay less sticky. Maintaining adequate nutrition is also highly important. For some patients with bronchiectasis, breathing requires more effort and therefore requires increased fuel for the Krebs-Cycle.

I diagnose Ms. Johnson with chronic bronchitis/COPD. Ms. Johnson has major risk factors for chronic bronchitis, she has a history of tobacco smoking for over 40 years, and is a current smoker of two to three packs of cigarettes per day. She faces the risks of being exposed to indoor air pollution from biomass fuel used for cooking and heating. Ms. Johnson’s FVC is 2.36 per-bronchodilator, which is below the predicated value for her age, race, sex, height and weight. The data suggested airway obstruction during expiration. FEV1 is 1.29 pre- bronchodilator, which is significantly lower than predicated value, which further suggest airway obstruction upon expiration. The FVC was slightly decreased and FEV1 was slightly increase post-bronchodilator,

The warning signs of acute bronchitis tend to be confusing together with the symptoms of cold as well as flu. Overall tiredness is usually recorded with some individuals who've had other sorts of warning signs for instance drippy nose, sore throat, temperature and many others. Intense cough, followed by mucus of green-colored or yellow-colored color, is known as a manifestation that signifies that a man or woman presently has chronic bronchitis. A strong and irritating experience in the upper body is additionally found.