Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) : Essay
Added on 2020-09-14
16 Pages5872 Words511 Views
Professional DevelopmentDisease and DisordersNutrition and WellnessHealthcare and ResearchBiology
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Page | 2IntroductionThis essay aims to explore the impact of a long- term condition (LTC) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) on a patient and his carers. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO 2013), a long-term condition cannot at present be cured; but can be controlled by medication and other therapies. In the UK, there are around 1.2 million people living with diagnosed COPD, making this disease the second most common lung disease in the country. COPD is also one of the leading contributors to respiratory mortality in the UK as reported by the British Thoracic Society (BTS).It is estimated that around 30,000 deaths occur in the UK from this disease each year, 25,000 of which is from England alone.In 2016 it was estimated that there were 251 million cases of COPD globally, and in 2015 it was also estimated that there were 3.17 million deaths globally from this disease within in that year which was reported by WHO.The British Lung Foundation reports the cost to the NHS for respiratory diseases, direct and indirect exceed £11.1 billion per year in England. Furthermore, research indicates that respiratory illness continues to represent a substantial hardship to individuals, the healthcare system and the wider society. The research funding allocation for respiratory illness does not currently reflect this.In agreement with the Nursing and Midwifery Council 2015 (NMC) no actual name, age or location will be used in this essay with regards to safe guarding patients.Case StudyJack Branning is a 59-year-old man who came into hospital being diagnosed with Pneumonia. Jack was unwell with a cold and flu for several weeks. He had a continuous cough, which was making him cough up phlegm from his lungs. The phlegm was green in colour and had hints of blood in it. He was feeling short of breath and tachycardic. Jack has previously been diagnosed with COPD; this meant he was at an increased risk of respiratory failure according to the British Lung Foundation (BLF 2017).
Page | 3Jack has multiple long-term conditions which include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia. Jack was also a heavy smoker in the past but has stopped since the increase in illness 10 years ago.Jack is 5ft 7in height and he weighs at 90kg. According to the Body Mass Index (BMI) Jack appears to be in the obese category. BMI is a tool which uses height and weight to work out whata person’s healthy weight range.Jack has his wife and daughters look after him at home. Jack’s daughter mentioned that due to shortness of breath, he has not been very active and refused to seek help when symptoms were increasing. He has also been experiencing tightness in his chest. Jack finds it hard to accept that he has multiple long-term conditions hence it was difficult for him to get the help he needed. Jack has had to stop work due to his illness and that too has had an effect on him, physically and emotionally as he was the family breadwinner.PathophysiologyCOPD is a life threatening condition; it is not curable but can be managed and controlled with right medication and therapies. This condition affects the lungs and the ability to breathe due to the narrowing of the airways. (Gennimata et al., 2010) Two of these lung conditions are persistent bronchitis and emphysema (BLF 2017). A person can have one of these conditions or they may have both.Bronchitis (acute bronchitis) is a temporary inflammation of the airway which causes a person tocough and produce phlegm when the airway is inflamed it makes it narrow, which then causes breathing difficulties (Bourdin et al., 2009). People with this produce a lot of phlegm and sputum. This condition would normally last up to 3 weeks. Acute bronchitis most commonly affects children under the age 5, although it can affect people of all ages.Emphysema (chronic bronchitis) is a condition where the air sacs of the lungs are damaged and enlarged causing breathlessness. This develops over time rather than a sudden offset. Chronic bronchitis produces large amounts of sticky mucus in the airways (Wells and Dransfield, 2013). The build-up of mucus around the airway gets worse over time and causes respiratory difficulties. Both of these processes narrow the airways making it much more difficult to breathe
Page | 4air in and out of the lungs, which also causes the lungs to take in less oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide (Wells and Dransfield, 2013).The most common causes of COPD are cigarette smoking, breathing in air pollution, fumes or dust over a long period of time (Agusti, 2007). Symptoms of COPD are build-up of mucus, coughing, wheezing when a person breathes, chest tightness and shortness of breath (Siafakas, Anthonisen and Georgopoulos, 2004). Although there are many more symptoms these are some of the most common ones.In Jack case he has been experiencing shortness of breath and chest tightness. Shortness of breath(which doctors call dyspnoea) is the painful sensation of having trouble breathing. People experience and describe their breathlessness differently depending on the cause (Gennimata et al., 2010). Typically, the frequency and intensity of breathing increases during physical activity and at high altitudes, but this increase does not cause discomfort (Bourdin et al., 2009). The respiratory rate can also increase at rest in Jack with different diseases, whether they are lung or affect other parts of the body. For example, fever increases the respiratory rate (Wells and Dransfield, 2013). In case of Jack’ dyspnea, the acceleration of breathing is associated with a sensation of lack of air. The person has the feeling of not being able to breathe sufficiently, quickly or deeply (O'Donnell and Laveneziana, 2007). He may notice the need for greater effort to inflate the chest when inhaling or to blow out air during exhalation. It may also have the uncomfortable feeling that it is urgently necessary to get air into the lungs (inspiration) before even having finished exhaling the air (exhaling); finally, other sensations are often described, such as chest tightness (O'Donnell and Laveneziana, 2007).Other symptoms, such as coughing or chest pain, may occur depending on the cause of dyspnea (O'Donnell and Laveneziana, 2007).People with lung disease, like Jack in this case, often have dyspnea during physical exertion. During physical exercise, the body produces more carbon dioxide and consumes more oxygen (Ofir et al., 2008). The cerebral respiratory centre activates breathing when the blood oxygen level is low, or when the blood level of carbon dioxide is high. In case of abnormal heart or lung function, even a small effort can lead to a significant increase in respiratory rate and dyspnoea
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