Common Respiratory Disorders Lecture Objectives

Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

• The leading causes of death in the US in 2022 include heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, accidents/unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, chronic liver disease, and cirrhosis, and kidney disease.
• Respiratory diseases can be categorized as affecting ventilation (e.g., asthma), diffusion (e.g., emphysema, COPD), or perfusion (e.g., pulmonary embolism).
• General manifestations of respiratory diseases include inflammatory processes, vasodilation, increased capillary permeability, and exudate formation.
• Signs and symptoms of respiratory diseases include cough, excess mucus production, hemoptysis, dyspnea, use of accessory muscles, chest pain, and barrel chest.
• Ventilation impairment can be caused by foreign bodies, trauma, hemothorax, pneumothorax, mucous accumulation, smooth muscle spasm, cystic fibrosis, asthma, and airway edema.
• Upper respiratory tract infections such as common cold, sinusitis, laryngitis, and bronchitis are highly contagious and can spread through respiratory droplets.
• Sinusitis can be acute (4 weeks or less) or chronic (> 12 weeks) and may be recurrent, with symptoms including pain, headache, tenderness, and pressure over the affected area.
• Complications of sinusitis include inflammatory edema, preseptal cellulitis, orbital cellulitis, orbital abscess, subperiosteal abscess, cavernous sinus thrombosis, and intracranial complications.
• Restrictive lung diseases, characterized by limited lung expansion, reduced lung volume, and increased respiratory effort, can be caused by pulmonary fibrosis, neuromuscular diseases, obesity, kyphosis, and infection.
• Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, a type of restrictive lung disease, results in secondary hypertension and right heart failure, with causes including idiopathic, autoimmune diseases, drugs/toxins, infections, and occupational/environmental inhalants.
• Pneumoconiosis, occupational lung diseases caused by exposure to dust such as asbestos, silica, and coal, can lead to restrictive lung disease, with treatment options including palliative measures, supplemental oxygen, smoking cessation, and bronchodilators.
• Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease that commonly affects the lungs, lymph nodes, skin, and eyes, with a higher prevalence in Blacks, women, and individuals in the 3rd-4th decade of life.