Question

Signs and Symptoms of Pulmonary Disease,

Pulmonary disease is associated with many signs and symptoms, the most common of which are dyspnea and cough. other include abnormal sputum, hemoptysis, altered breathing patterns, hypoventilation and hyperventilation, cyanosis, clubbing, and chest pain.

Please explain those signs and symptoms. at least one page

Answer 1

DYSPNEA:

Dyspnea is the medical term for shortness of breath, sometimes described as “air hunger.” It is an uncomfortable feeling.

Shortness of breath can range from mild and temporary to serious and long-lasting. It is sometimes difficult to diagnose and treat dyspnea because there can be many different causes.

Dyspnea can happen as a result of overexertion, spending time at high altitude, or as a symptom of a range of conditions.

Signs that a person is experiencing dyspnea include:

• shortness of breath after exertion or due to a medical condition
• feeling smothered or suffocated as a result of breathing difficulties
• labored breathing
• tightness in the chest
• rapid, shallow breathing
• heart palpitations
• wheezing &coughing

ABNORMAL SPUTUM:

Sputum is mucus that is coughed up from the lower airways (the trachea and bronchi).

Naked eye exam of sputum can be done at home by a patient in order to note the various colors (see below). Any hint of yellow color (pus) suggests an airway infection (but does not indicate between the types of organisms causing it). Such color hints are best detected when the sputum is viewed on a very white background such as white paper, a white pot or a white sink surface. The more intense the yellow color, the more likely it is a bacterial infection (bronchitis, bronchopneumonia or pneumonia).

HEMOPTYSIS:

Hemoptysis is defined as the spitting of blood derived from the lungs or bronchial tubes as a result of pulmonary or bronchial hemorrhage Hemoptysis is classified as nonmassive or massive based on the volume of blood loss; however, there are no uniform definitions for these categories. In this article, hemoptysis is considered nonmassive if blood loss is less than 200 mL per day.The lungs receive blood from the pulmonary and bronchial arterial systems.4 The low-pressure pulmonary system tends to produce small-volume hemoptysis, whereas bleeding from the bronchial system, which is at systemic pressure, tends to be profuse.4 Blood loss volume is more useful in directing management than in reaching a diagnosis.

ALTERED BREATHING PATTERNS:

They include apnea, eupnea, orthopnea, dyspnea, hyperpnea, hyperventilation, hypoventilation, tachypnea, Kussmaul respiration, Cheyne-Stokes respiration, sighing respiration, Biot respiration, apneustic breathing, central neurogenic hyperventilation, and central neurogenic hypoventilation.

HYPOVENTILATION AND HYPERVENTILATION:

Hypoventilation (also known as respiratory depression) occurs when ventilation is inadequate (hypo meaning "below") to perform needed gas exchange.By definition it causes an increased concentration of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia) and respiratory acidosis. Hypoventilation is not synonymous with respiratory arrest, in which breathing ceases entirely and death occurs within minutes due to hypoxia and leads rapidly into complete anoxia, although both are medical emergencies. Hypoventilation can be considered a precursor to hypoxia and its lethality is attributed to hypoxia with carbon dioxide toxicity.

Hyperventilation is a condition in which you start to breathe very fast.

Healthy breathing occurs with a healthy balance between breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. You upset this balance when you hyperventilate by exhaling more than you inhale. This causes a rapid reduction in carbon dioxide in the body.

Low carbon dioxide levels lead to narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain. This reduction in blood supply to the brain leads to symptoms like lightheadedness and tingling in the fingers. Severe hyperventilation can lead to loss of consciousness.

CYANOSIS:

Cyanosis is the bluish or purplish discolouration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the tissues near the skin surface having low oxygen saturation.Based on Lundsgaard and Van Slyke's work, it is classically described as occurring if 5.0 g/dL of deoxyhemoglobin or greater is present.This was based on an estimate of capillary saturation based on a mean of arterial versus peripheral venous blood gas measurements.Since estimation of hypoxia is usually now based either on arterial blood gas measurement or pulse oximetry, this is probably an overestimate, with evidence that levels of 2.0 g/dL of deoxyhemoglobin may reliably produce cyanosis.[5 Since, however, the presence of cyanosis is dependent upon there being an absolute quantity of deoxyhemoglobin, the bluish color is more readily apparent in those with high hemoglobin counts than it is with those with anemia. Also, the bluer the color, the more difficult it is to detect on deeply pigmented skin. When signs of cyanosis first appear, such as on the lips or fingers, intervention should be made within 3–5 minutes because a severe hypoxia or severe circulatory failure may have induced the cyanosis.

CLUBBING:

Nail clubbing, also known as digital clubbing or clubbing, is a deformity of the finger or toe nails associated with a number of diseases, mostly of the heart and lungs.When it occurs together with joint effusions, joint pains, and abnormal skin and bone growth it is known as hypertrophic osteoarthropathy.

CHEST PAIN:

Discomfort in the chest including a dull ache, a crushing or burning feeling, a sharp stabbing pain and pain that radiates to the neck or shoulder.

Chest pain can be due to underlying conditions like pulmonary disease.