Pulmonary Contusion
A pulmonary contusion is a deep bruise to the tissues of the lung. The lungs bring oxygen into the bloodstream and remove carbon dioxide that the body cannot use. A pulmonary contusion causes the lung tissue to swell and bleed into the surrounding area. This interferes with the ability of the lungs to function. You may feel short of breath because you are not getting enough oxygen.
CAUSES
This condition is usually caused by a chest injury, such as an injury from:
• A car crash.
• A severe fall, especially from a high height.
• Being near an explosion.
• A sports injury.
• A crush injury, such as from industrial or farming machinery.
• A physical assault, especially if struck in the chest with a blunt object.
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This may be needed if you have difficulty breathing and have low blood oxygen. In severe cases, you may need to have a tube placed in your throat and a machine (ventilator) to help with breathing.
• Surgery if a blood vessel continues to bleed uncontrollably or if the lung has been punctured.
Initial treatment for this condition is often given in an emergency department.
HOME CARE INSTRUCTIONS
• Take medicines only as told by your health care provider. Do not take aspirin for the first few days, because this may increase bruising.
• Continue to do deep breathing exercises. Use an incentive spirometer for deep breathing exercises as told by your health care provider.
• Return to your normal activities only as told by your health care provider. Talk to your health care provider about:
○ What activities are safe for you.
○ When you can return to driving, work, school, and sports.
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.
SEEK MEDICAL CARE IF:
• You have shaking chills.
• You cough up mucus.
SEEK IMMEDIATE MEDICAL CARE IF:
• You have difficulty breathing and it is getting worse.
• Your chest pain gets worse.
• You cough up
What is the purpose of a chest tube? Why does this patient need a chest tube?
70% of her right lung is collapsed and is not taking part in gas exchange
Both rapid, shallow breathing patterns and hypoventilation effect gas exchange. Arterial blood gases will be monitored and changes discussed with provider. Alteration in PaCO2 and PaO2 levels are signs of respiratory failure. Patient’s body position will be properly aligned for optimum respiratory excursion, this promotes lung expansion and improved air exchange. Patient will be suctioned as needed to clear secretions and maintain patent airways. The expected outcome is that the patient’s airway and gas exchange will be maintained as evidence by normal arterial blood gases (Herdman,
• Return to your normal activities as told by your health care provider. Ask your health care provider what activities are safe for you.
Return to your normal activities as told by your health care provider. Ask your health care provider what activities are safe for you.
A tension pneumothorax occurs when the lung is punctured, but there is no outside opening for air to escape. The pressure that builds is put on internal organs, which decreases cardiac output and the lungs’
Intervention for COPD is focused on managing underlying conditions. The goal is to improve airway function. Some strategies include using antibiotics to treat infection, diuretics which reduce pressure on the heart and lungs, some bronchodilators to help expanding the airways, as well as corticosteroids to reduce inflammation, and last in severe cases use of mechanical ventilation can be efficient and effective to keep oxygenation in an optimal level
• Keep your rash covered with a loose bandage (dressing). Wear loose-fitting clothing to help ease the pain of material rubbing against the
• Return to your normal activities as told by your health care provider. Ask your health care provider what activities are safe for
• Keep all follow-up visits as told by your health care provider. This is important.
This sheet gives you information about how to care for yourself after your procedure. Your health care provider may also give you more specific instructions. If you have problems or questions, contact your health care provider.
respiratory insufficiency, if a victim were to have a respiratory failure, this would lead to life-threatening complications
gases out of the alveoli. Where as normal lunges look like new sponges, emphysema lungs look like
It is characterized by the scarring found inside and between the air sacs in the lungs. When the scar forms, the tissue will become hard and thick. This makes it difficult for oxygen to navigate through the walls of the air sac into the bloodstream This wound can prove to be fatal to the patient because the tissue can’t be repaired, and as a result, causes extreme difficulty with breathing. The causes of pulmonary fibrosis can be many different reasons. Cigarette smoking, certain viral infections and even exposure to environmental pollutants are a few triggers according to Google. But most cases of pulmonary fibrosis have no known cause. These cases are called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The (ALA), otherwise known as the American lung Association, estimates that roughly ...”140,000 Americans have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis”. The disease is more than likely to affect men and women alike, who fall between the ages of 50 to
As air sacs are destroyed, the lungs are able to transfer less and less oxygen to the bloodstream, causing shortness of breath. The lungs also lose their elasticity, which is important to keep airways open. The patient experiences great difficulty exhaling. Emphysema doesn't develop suddenly, it comes on very gradually.