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Essay on Copd: Teaching Plan

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD):
Teaching Plan

By: Michele Combs, RN

NSG 405

February 7, 2011

Teaching Plan for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the 4th leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of morbidity (CDC, 2011).
COPD is a group of diseases which cause airflow blockage and breathing related problems such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and some forms of asthma (CDC, 2011). COPD kills more than 120,000 Americans each year and is expected to be the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States by 2020. According to results of the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study, Kentucky is ranked one of the highest …show more content…

If an individual understands a diagnosis or disease he/she is more likely to

comply with treatment regimen. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

refers to a group of conditions which have an increased resistance to

expiratory airflow. COPD includes pulmonary emphysema and chronic

Bronchitis (Suddarth, 2001). An individual may suffer from chronic

infections of the airway and have excessive mucus secretions, shortness of

breath, and cough. This would be chronic bronchitis. Pulmonary

emphysema is the destruction of alveoli, enlargement of distal airspaces,

and a breakdown of alveolar walls and the disease slowly deteriorates lung

function years before an individual is diagnosed (Suddarth, 2001).

Common causes of COPD include:
1. Air pollutants
2. Infection
3. Cigarette Smoking
4. Allegeries
5. Genetic predisposition
6. Aging
7. Occupational exposure
8. Autoimmunity (CDC, 2011).

Clinical features include a wide range of infections that can cause an

exacerbation to occur. The course, treatment, and prognosis is related to the

extent of airflow obstruction, the age at which an individual was diagnosed,

and the rate of change in respiratory function.

Medications and prevention

Health maintenance and prevention is important when discussing with

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