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• Define COPD and describe the three major disorder groups including symptoms and diagnostic signs.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that are characterized by constant obstructed airflow through the lungs and airways. The three disorder groups are:
1. Chronic bronchitis: this is when there is "persistent inflammation and excessive secretions of mucus in the main airways of the lungs." This disease is diagnosed as chronic when a person continues to cough for at least 3 months of the year for two consecutive years. Symptoms include: cyanosis (lack of O2), persistent cough, retains CO2 leading to …show more content…
Emphysema: this is a "progressive lung condition characterized by the breakdown of the lung's elastic structure and destruction of the walls of the bronchioles and aveoli." This process reduces the surface area involved in respiration. Symptoms include dypnea , cough that wont go away, difficulty breathing when exercising, barrel chest yet thin limbs, significant weight loss, and labored breathing (Dr. Goodwin, 2017).
3. Progressive respiratory failure: In this disease, "the gas exchange between the air and circulating blood is severely impaired, causing abnormal levels of tissue gases that can be life threatening." symptoms are: persistent cough, dypnea ( especially with exertion), diminished cognitive ability or confusion, cyanosis, fatigue, and edema ( particularly in the hands and feet) (Radek, 2017).
• Define ABGs, list the major ABGs with the normal amounts, and discuss what each represents.
Arteriole Blood Gases is "the sampling of the blood levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the arteries, as opposed to the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in venous blood."
1. pH: (7.35-7.45) measurement of acidity or alkalinity based on H+ ions present in the blood.
2. pO2: (80-100 mm hg) the partial pressure of oxygen that is dissolved in the arterial blood
3. HCO3: (21-28 mEq/L) this is the calculated value of the amount of bicarbonate in the blood stream. This is not a blood gas but "the anion of carbonic …show more content…
Hypoxemia and Hypercapnia are two types of respiratory failure diseases. Hypoxemia respiratory failure (type I) is when "an arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) lower than 60 mm Hg with a normal or low arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2)." Hypoxemia is the most common form of respiratory failure. It can also be related to all acute diseases of the lung, "which generally involve fluid filling or collapse of alveolar units." Examples of type I respiratory failure are : " cardiogenic or noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, pneumonia, and pulmonary hemorrhage.
Hypercapnia is also known as type II respiratory failure and is characterized by a PaCO2 higher than 50 mm Hg. In other words, there is too much CO2 in the blood. Hypercapnia is common in patients with "hypercapnic respiratory failure who are breathing room air; The pH depends on the level of bicarbonate, which in turn is dependent on the duration of hypercapnia." Common etiologies associated with this disease are drug overdose, neuromuscular disease, chest wall abnormalities, and severe airway disorders ( asthma and COPD) (Respiratory Failure, 2017).
• Discuss the nutritional support of patients in respiratory failure including types of feedings and content of