Breathing Terms and Conditions Quiz

Breathing Terms and Conditions

• Dyspnea: Difficult or uncomfortable breathing, often characterized by shortness of breath, labored breathing, and a feeling of being preoccupied with breathing.

  • Signs: Flaring nostrils, use of accessory muscles of respiration, and retraction.
  • Can be caused by a variety of factors, initially during exertion, then at rest.

• Orthopnea: Difficulty breathing when lying down, often due to increased fluid in the lungs. Relieved by being upright.

  • Causes: Left ventricular heart failure or pulmonary edema.

• Apnea: Temporary cessation of breathing, as seen in sleep apnea.

• Bradypnea: Breathing rate less than 12 breaths per minute.

  • Causes: Overuse of narcotics, brain disorders, hypothyroidism.

• Tachypnea: Breathing rate greater than 20 breaths per minute, characterized by shallow breaths.

  • Causes: Lung disease, obesity, and pulmonary embolism.

Abnormal Breathing Patterns

• Eupnea: Rhythmic breathing with 8-16 breaths per minute.

  • Tidal volume: 400-800 ml.
  • Characteristics: Short expiratory pause and sigh breaths (10-12 per hour).

• Kussmaul Respiration: Deep, rapid breathing that helps unload CO2, seen in diabetic ketoacidosis.

• Cheyne-Stokes Respirations: Alternating apnea and hyperventilation while asleep, often seen in conditions that slow blood flow to the brain stem (e.g., heart failure, brainstem disease).

  • Mechanism: Oxygen saturation fluctuates between 90% and 100%, with rising CO2 levels triggering periods of hyperventilation.

Abnormal Breath Sounds

• Wheezing: Heard in asthma.
• Crackles: Heard in pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis.
• Stridor: Indicates airway obstruction.

Hypoventilation and Hyperventilation

• Hypoventilation results in increased carbon dioxide levels (hypercapnia) and decreased blood pH.

• Hyperventilation (not to be confused with hyperpnea or tachypnea) results in decreased carbon dioxide levels (hypocapnia).

  • Characteristics: Usually affects adults, more common in women.
  • Causes: Not related to allergens, but triggered by exercise, anxiety, stress, cold air, dry air, smoke, viruses, hyperventilation, aspirin, and other factors.
  • Important distinctions: It's not seasonal and not helped by allergy shots.
  • Development: Often develops later in life, frequently due to repeated respiratory tract infections, and tends to be chronic.

Asthma: Clinical Manifestations

• Bronchospasm: Leads to airway obstruction and air trapping in the lungs.

• Air Trapping: Flattens the diaphragm, making inspiration less effective, and restricts chest expansion.

• Wheezing: Initially occurs during expiration, then during both inspiration and expiration.

• Pulmonary Function Tests: Demonstrate decreased peak expiratory flow rate and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1).

• Blood Gases: Initially show decreased carbon dioxide levels (hypocapnia) and respiratory alkalosis, but later develop hypercapnia and hypoxemia due to exhaustion.

  • Key problem: Fatigue, as breathing requires extra effort.

• Mucus: Thick and obstructive.

• Cycle of Difficulty: Difficulty breathing triggers anxiety, which increases the difficulty of breathing, leading to further anxiety.

Asthma Treatment

• Usually administered via a nebulizer.
• Bronchodilators: Open up the airways.
• Corticosteroids: Reduce inflammation.

Tracheal Airway Collapse (TAV)

• Causes: Collapse of small and mid-sized airways during expiration.