EMPHYSEMA

Name: Yonet Gilgeours

Emphysema

Date: 3/22/10

Name of class: Respiratory 110

Instructor: Nancy Merkourious

Emphysema

Emphysema

Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involving damage to the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. As a result, your body does not get the oxygen it needs. Emphysema makes it hard to catch your breath. You may also have a chronic cough and have trouble breathing during exercise.The most common cause is cigarette smoking. If you smoke, quitting can help prevent you from getting the disease. If you already have emphysema, not smoking might keep it from getting worse. Treatment is based on whether your symptoms are mild, moderate or severe. Treatments include inhalers, oxygen, medications and sometimes surgery to relieve symptoms and prevent complications.

Signs & Symptoms

The severity of symptoms of emphysema varies between individuals and the amount of lung damage that has been done. Symptoms are related to the lower levels of oxygen in the blood that is the result of lung damage due to emphysema.Typical symptoms include shortness of breath, especially with exertion, and wheezing (a whistling sound made with breathing). Chest tightness with breathing also occurs.Other symptoms can include change in alertness or mental status, fatigue, weakness, confusion, anxiety, dizziness, and pallor or cyanosis (blue tinged coloring of the skin, especially around the mouth in the extremities) (Mao et al 2002). These are often symptoms of worsening emphysema.

Complications of emphysema can be life threatening and include pneumonia, heart disease, and hypertension. Symptoms of complications may include shortness of breath, chest pain, hypertension, fever, pallor, change in consciousness, and cardiac arrhythmias(Wendt Wise 2006).

Diagnosis

A diagnosis of emphysema is made only after a complete evaluation, and history and physical is done by a health care professional. This will help to determine the type and severity of emphysema you have and the most appropriate and effective treatment plan for you. An important question your health care provider will ask is how much you have smoked in your lifetime and your exposure to lung irritants. It is very important to answer these questions as accurately as possible.

Diagnostic testing can include lung function tests, such as a spirometry, which measures how much air you are able to move in and out of your lungs. This easy, painless, and noninvasive breathing test is often done regularly to monitor how well treatments are working. A chest X-ray and CT scan of the chest may be done, which can evaluate a number of factors, including the presence of other conditions that may occur with or exacerbate (worsen) emphysema, such as pneumonia and congestive heart failure. An arterial blood gas test is a sample of blood taken from an artery with a needle that measures many parameters of effective breathing, including the oxygen level in your blood. An alpha-1 antitrypsin (ATT) concentration may be ordered to help diagnose a less common form of emphysema that is hereditary. In this condition, some people are born without an important protein that protects the lungs.

Pathophysiology

Emphysema is an irreversible degenerative condition. The most important measure ...