Chronic Bronchitis Case Study Essay

I will analyse the prevalence of the condition and what the potential causes may be. My interests have been directed to pre hospital care and community lead treatment packages, which are potentially available to the patient, as this is the acute environment, which I will have contact with in my employment as a paramedic. The initial reading was to understand COPD as a chronic condition, what is COPD? and its prevalence in the population. The (World health organisation, 2000), states that one in four deaths in the world are caused by COPD. In 2010 (Vos T Flaxman etal, 2012), says globally there were approximately 329 million, which is 4.8% of the population who are affected by this chronic condition, In the UK (NICE, 2010), have estimated that 3 million people suffer from COPD, with more yet to be diagnosed. This information about the amount of people living with this condition was surprising, as I little knowledge of its existence. During the early 1960’s (Timothy Q. Howes, 2005), says the term COPD had been designated as a single term unifying all the chronic respiratory diseases. Since then the term COPD, has been sub divided in to three umbrella areas, Bronchitis, Emphysema and Chronic asthma, which are separate conditions, which I have been previously aware of as their individual conditions. The 58 year old patient who we visited,

Chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic asthma are the main three conditions that make up COPD. Emphysema causes

R.W. appears with progressive difficulty getting his breath while doing simple tasks, and also having difficulty doing any manual work, complains of a cough, fatigue, and weight loss, and has been treated for three respiratory infections a year for the past 3 years. On physical examination, CNP notice clubbing of his fingers, use accessory muscles for respiration, wheezing in the lungs, and hyperresonance on percussion of the lungs, and also pulmonary function studies show an FEV1 of 58%. These all symptoms and history represented here most strongly indicate the probability of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a respiratory disease categorized by chronic airway inflammation, a decrease in lung function over time, and gradual damage in quality of life (Booker, 2014).

The study included 100 patients with COPD. All patients fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. According to its demographic and clinical parameters and treatment groups differ among themselves. Completed the study, all patients included in the study. The therapy in all patients with a clinically meaningful improvement of symptoms was observed.

Have you ever known a person who smokes and has a hard time doing every day activities, due to difficulty of breath, or constantly coughing. He or she may have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD. COPD is a progressive and treatable lung disease that causes shortness of breath due to obstruction of air way (COPD, 2013). Progressive means that is gradually gets worse over time. It is a combination of chronic bronchitis and emphysema (Causes,2014). Chronic bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchioles, which causes mucus build up (Davis,2016). Emphysema is when the air sacs get enlarged (Smoking, 2016). Since the disease does not have a cure yet it is important to know pathology (path of disease), epidemiology (who is effected in a population), ethology (who is effected genetically), manifestation (symptoms), treatment, and outcome.

COPD is the continued tightening of the airways, causing a blockage to the airflow to the lungs, which causes shortness of breath. It chiefly comprises of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Both are typically caused by smoking, or less frequently, by work-related exposure to dusts or

22 plus years of smoking- smoking has been directly linked as one of the number one causes of Chronic bronchitis/COPD.

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.

Rationale: L.J. exhibits symptoms of COPD that include shortness of breath and productive cough. He has a smoking history of 65-pack-year and smoking has been identified as the primary cause/trigger of the disease (Nagelmann et al., 2011).

In this reflective piece of writing I will be explaining how chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects the patient physically, psychologically ,and socially ,I will also explain how the disease affects his daily routine and how it impacts on his family life. I will give an overview of the clinical signs and symptoms, how the disease alters the pathphysiology of the lungs, and what these changes cause within the body.

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.

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.

The R.S is likely to show signs of wheezing in his breathing and a productive cough/sputum. These coughs could last for months. Shortness of breath and chest discomfort are also common in patients with chronic bronchitis. The R.S. could be suffering from hypoxemia (low oxygen in the blood) and polycythemia (over production of hemoglobin in the blood due to the RBC's trying to compensate for the lungs not working to their full potential). Cardiac failure could be present, which is important in this case due to the fact that our R.S. has a history of coronary artery disease. Emphysematous COPD clinical findings include shortness of breath and intermittent dyspnea (difficulty in breathing). Dyspnea in this case is progressive and the R.S. could

Defіnіtіon of COPD The Global Іnіtіatіve for Obѕtrustіve Lung Dіѕeaѕe (GOLD) Guіdelіneѕ defіne COPD, chronic progreѕѕіve dіѕeaѕe, even after admіnіѕtratіon of Broncodіlatorѕ but not full reverѕіble aіrway obѕtructіon іѕ charasterіzed. The aіrway obѕtructіon іѕ cauѕed but mіxture of obѕtrustіve causes bronshіtіѕ and bronchial іnјuruy and іѕ an abnormal inflammatory with the lungs associated with harmful particles. Symptoms of COPD are chronic and progressive dyspnea, cough and sputum production. The diagnosis of COPD and backup is done in addition to the clinical diagnosis of the Spirometry. It should be assumed that COPD when the forced post bronchodilator force expiratory volume (FEV1) less than 80% of the

These tests or examinations may include the following: Pulse oximetry, chest x-ray, arterial blood gas (ABG), and a CT scan. Chronic bronchitis may last a lifetime but the illness can be controlled. Treatments are used to alleviate symptoms. This type of bronchitis is not curable, but it's manageable. The best course of treatment is to be as infirmed as you can, see your doctor, take any recommended medications, and get yourself back into shape as much as you can. Bronchitis can be bothersome but there are things you can do that will help. Start towards working it out, and you'll be feeling a lot better in no time at