Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( Copd )

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,

As a result of emphysema there is a significant loss of alveolar attachments, which contributes to peripheral airway collapse. There are two major types of emphysema according to the distribution within the acinus and they are; (i) centrolobular emphysema which involves dilatation and destruction of the respiratory bronchioles; and (ii) panlobular emphysema which involves destruction of the whole of the acinus. According to theory, centrolobular is the most common type of emphysema in COPD and is more prominent in the upper zones, while panlobular predominates in patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and is more prominent in the lower zones. In relation to patients D.Z. with emphysema, the walls between the tiny air sacs in the lungs are damaged due to long-term cigarette smoking effect on his lungs as evidenced by patient c/o difficulty breathing at rest and productive cough with thick yellow-green sputum r/t a

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).

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

History of Present Illness: Mr. Magnuson is a very pleasant 77-year-old gentleman who was previously seen in this office by Elvira Aguila, MD for COPD and hypoxic respiratory failure. He is here today for routine followed up. He was last evaluated in January 2015. Since that time, he states that his dyspnea is worse. He feels that it is related to the weather. He does state that he works around the house, although he does have significant functional limitations because of shortness of breath. His wife also confirms that he is able to do less and less. He has a stable, minimal cough. He is using 4L of oxygen at night as well as, as needed throughout the day. He continues to smoke three to four cigarettes on

In order to treat this disease, smokers need to participate in smoking cessation which involves the most important step, to stop smoking. Medications to help treat COPD include bronchodilators, such as inhalers, which relax muscles around the air way. Inhaled steroids can reduce air way inflammation and help prevent exacerbations. Lung therapies include oxygen therapy which will help increase blood oxygen. If severe enough, surgeries such as lung volume reduction surgery, lung transplants, and a bullectomy may be

The most crucial part in any treatment plan for a COPD patient is to stop smoking. By continuing to smoke after a COPD diagnosis could cause your symptoms to worsen and the treatment plan to fail. Medications are another way to treat symptoms and complications. Some of the medications are used on a regular basis or on an as needed basis (PRN). Another treatment is lung therapy, which are often used for moderate to severe cases of COPD. Surgery is also an option for people who the medication has not sufficiently helped or people with severe forms of emphysema. Surgery could be a lung transplant and lung volume reduction

COPD, or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, is one of the most common lung diseases. Thousands of people are diagnosed every year, and it recently moved up to the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer. This paper will discuss disease pathology, the most common and recently discovered diagnostic tests, as well as treatment options. It will also address end of life care.

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).

There are a number of clinical findings that can be consequences due to R.S. COPD. R.S. has developed chronic bronchitis also coined as typed B COPD or the blue bloater. A productive cough or an acute chest illness is common. The cough mostly is worse in the mornings and creates a small amount of colorless sputum. Wheezing may occur in some patients, predominantly during exertion and exacerbations (Mosenifar, 2014). Alterations in the airway involve chronic inflammation and swelling of the bronchial mucosa causing scarring with increased fibrosis of the mucous membrane. There is hypertrophy of the bronchial glands and goblets cell with an increase in bronchial wall thickness, which leads to an obstruction of airflow. Goblet cells and mucosal glands that experience hypertrophy cause a product of increased mucus that then combines with purulent exudate

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.

COPD is a progressive disease that makes it difficult to breath. Loss of elasticity, the destruction of the air sacs (emphysema), airways becomes thick and inflamed (chronic bronchitis), and/or increased mucus thickness that blocks the airways. Smoking is the most common cause of COPD, however it can be caused by a long exposure to irritants to the lung, such as chemicals. COPD can be directly related to four different causes. COPD does not have a cure, it can only be managed.

is stated to have a history of prolonged smoking, a leading cause of B COPD. R.S. has a PaO2 of 50 mm Hg and PaCO2 of 60 mm Hg, showing elevated PaCO2, and decreased levels of PaO2 that are consistent with that of B COPD. Patient is taking inhaled β2 agonists and theophylline which are treatments of COPD. Since R.S.’s PaO2 is less than 50 mm Hg, it is recommended that R.S. be treated with low-dose oxygen therapy. Since PaO2 is decreased in R.S., excess strain on the heart would occur in order to move oxygen throughout the body which could go along with coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial vascular disease as these are diseases of the arteries and arteries pump oxygenated blood away from the heart. Smoking is also a possible involvement of coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial vascular disease. Coronary artery disease and peripheral arterial vascular disease are usually caused by atherosclerosis of coronary arteries unrelated to COPD. Additionally, patients with B COPD often exhibit bacterial colonization that causes pneumonia. Since R.S. has an area of consolidation in his right lower lobe that is thought to be consistent with pneumonia, patient is as risk 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.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common problem in the elderly, characterized by obstruction of airflow that cannot be fully reversed with inhaler medications, called bronchodilators. It is characterized by intermittent worsening of symptoms and these episodes are called acute exacerbations, in which approximately half are caused by bacteria including Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae.