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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ( Copd )

Decent Essays

Matt McGuire
Dr. Wilson
25 November 2014
Chronic Bronchitis Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects an estimated 24 million individuals in the United States, where half of these people do not even know they have it (COPD Foundation 2014). COPD governs a deluge of ailments including: emphysema, refractory asthma, some forms of bronchiectasis, and the very prevalent chronic bronchitis. Chronic Bronchitis is a long-term pulmonary disease where there is a problem in the airway of the lungs, making it very difficult to breath, especially when one is trying to exhale air out of the airways. It is clinically defined as cough production of sputum occurring on most days in three consecutive months over two consecutive years (Chaudhry …show more content…

Chronic Bronchitis has some fairly common disease symptoms (cough, increased mucus production, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, fatigue, and wheezing) making it tricky to spot for the diseased individual (Chaudhry et al., 2013). Though it can be easy to diagnose with a doctor/physician present. Spirometry is a simple, non-invasive technique used to diagnose individuals with possible COPD. The most commonly examined values in spirometry tests are FEV1 (forced expiratory volume in one second) and FVC (forced vital capacity). The two values are calculated into a ratio, consequently named the FEV1/FVC ratio. If this ratio drops below 70-75%, (depending on the guideline) the individual would be diagnosed with a type of COPD, and likely chronic bronchitis. Once an individual is diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, they have a few options for treatment. Although chronic bronchitis cannot be cured, there are several effective methods to reduce the effect of the disease. For the chronic smokers that are diagnosed, smoking cessation is the single most effective intervention in chronic bronchitis (Chaudhry et al., 2013). Bronchodilators (beta-2 agonists) can be inhaled to cause bronchodilation of the smooth muscles cells, and corticosteroids act by inhibiting transcriptions factors to reduce inflammation of the airway (Chaudhry et al., 2013). Although both corticosteroids and bronchodilators improve FEV1, reduce

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