Case Study of Patient with COPD

Running Head: PATIENT WITH COPD
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Case Study of patient with COPD
Essay
student
4/11/2019

PATIENT WITH COPD
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Case Study of a patient with COPD
COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the chronic inflammatory lung
disorder that results in the obstructive airflow from the patient’s lungs (Zwerink, et al., 2014). It
is generally caused by tobacco smoking and exposure to burning fuels. Risk factor associated
with this particular health issues is age, genetics, exposure to dust and chemicals (Sethi, & Desai,
2016). Mrs Brown has been diagnosed with these health conditions and developed symptoms
like acute breathlessness, feeling trapped, cough with productive white sputum, rhinorrhoea, and
some mental issues like depression. In this particular essay, two different high priority strategy
will be discussed to manage Mrs Brown.
Palliative care is the interdisciplinary approach specific to the specialized medicinal and
nursing care for an individual with life-limiting diseases. This particular approach can be
beneficial in case of Mrs Brown since it is focused on providing the relief from the symptoms
and the stress related to the serious disorder (Vermylen, Szmuilowicz, & Kalhan, 2015). As
discussed in the case study Mrs Brown has developed both physical and mental symptoms due to
the COPD related problems. Therefore this particular approach might be effective. Palliative
approaches integrate both psychological and spiritual factors of care and offer the support system
to the patient to help them live as actively as possible until their death (Beernaert, Cohen,
Deliens, Devroey, Vanthomme, Pardon, & Van den Block, 2013). Two different strategies can
be implemented for the patient by using palliative care such as pulmonary rehabilitation, and
patient education and emotional support. Pulmonary rehabilitation is the evidence-based
approach for the patients with the chronic respiratory disorders are often not able to perform
daily life tasks (McCarthy, Casey, Devane, Murphy, Murphy, & Lacasse, 2015) similar to Mrs
Brown. This program is effective in reducing symptoms and optimizing functional status. These

PATIENT WITH COPD
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programs might be beneficial to reduce the breathing issues and built the patient’s fitness. This
particular interventions can be performed by the nurses and include different other strategies like
exercising, using breathing techniques, healthy nutrition, clearance of secretion, energy
conservation, and rehabilitation in exacerbation. Exercise is the key component of any
rehabilitation program to enhance the functioning of the lungs. It has been recognised that nearly
30 per cent of the muscle mass is generally wasted in the COPD patient. Poor muscle mass
results in early fatigue and decreased tolerance of exercises. Muscle training replaces the type 2
muscle fibres with category 1 fibres, therefore physical activities build up the muscle mass and
strength (Corhay, Dang, Van Cauwenberge, & Louis, 2014). Some of the exercise includes leg
exercise like stair climbing, turning a crank against the resistance or just lifting the arms against
the gravity. These exercises will enhance the physical activity of Mrs Brown as she is not able to
move. Since cough and sputum were the key symptoms in the case of Mrs Brown, therefore
clearing the patient's airways from secretions might be a helpful strategy for reducing breathing
problems. This can be done by good hydration, avoidance of the irritants, and implementing
bronchodilator therapy. Chest physiotherapy is also found to be effective in clearing the
secretions. Controlled cough and forced expirations are the two different techniques established
helpful. Breathing techniques like breathing slowly and deeply are helpful to reduce the dead
spaces and enhance CO2 removal. As discussed that Mrs Brown is suffering from weakness and
decreased lung functioning, therefore energy conservations activities should be implemented and
proper rest must be provided to her. Exacerbation of COPD may reduce the gains of pulmonary
rehabilitation, therefore post exacerbation rehabilitations approach has been found to be useful in
enhancing the exercise capacity (McCarthy et al., 2015).