Suspect pulmonary embolism in any patient who had a sudden onset of unexplained dyspnea and chest pain (typically sharp and localized to a specific area of the chest) and signs of hypoxia but who has normal breath sounds and adequate volume.Įmphysema and chronic bronchitis are chronic disease conditions that continue to progress. Asthma is characterized by an increased sensitivity of the lower airways to irritants and allergens, causing bronchospasm, which is a diffuse, reversible narrowing of the bronchioles, and inflammation to the lining of the bronchioles. The hallmark of chronic bronchitis is a prominent productive cough. The patient with emphysema may have been prescribed bronchodilators and home oxygen. The patient may have a pink complexion from chronic hyperventilation and likely has a history of smoking. The patient will have a dry cough and will exhale through pursed lips, which causes a longer expiratory phase. The emphysema patient is typically thin with a barrel chest from chronic trapping of air in the alveoli, causing the anterior-posterior diameter of the chest to increase. Pneumonia is primarily an acute infectious disease caused by a bacterium or virus that affects the lower respiratory tract and causes lung inflammation and fluid- or pus-filled alveoli. Chronic bronchitis is characterized by a productive cough that persists for at least three consecutive months a year for at least two consecutive years. Chronic bronchitis is a disease process that affects primarily the bronchi and bronchioles. People who are exposed continuously to environmental toxins are predisposed to developing emphysema. The primary cause of COPD is cigarette smoking. Emphysema is a permanent disease process distal to the terminal bronchiole that is characterized by destruction of the alveolar walls and distention of the alveolar sacs and a gradual destruction of the pulmonary capillary beds with a severe reduction in the alveolar/capillary area for gas exchange to occur.
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