intro to pathophysiology

what is pathphysiology?

study of the abnormal physiological processes that cause or are associated with disease or injury

• how the body and its systems work when disease/injury occurs

what are the concepts of pathophysiology?

etiology

pathogenesis

clinical manifestations

treatment options

what is etiology?

study of causes/reason for disease (how did this happen)

• identifies causal factors that provoke a particular disease or injury

etiology: what are the causal factors?

intrinsic

extrinsic

idiopathic

iatrogenic

what are intrinsic factors?

malfunction or change within the body

what are extrinsic factors?

caused by external factors (infectious agents/behaviors)

what does idiopathic mean?

cause unknown

what does iatrogenic mean?

of or relating to illness caused by medical examination or treatment

• something that is caused by clinical intervention

what is pathogenesis?

the way in which a disease develops

the period from etiology to clinical manifestation

how can this period look like?

may be acute, chronic (acute on chronic), recurrent

what are clinical manifestations?

signs and symptoms

what are signs?

objective evidence of illness or disease state

observable and measurable by affected individual as well as others

what are symptoms?

subjective indication of illness or disease

experience reported by individual affected

examples of signs

3 basic signs: blood pressure, respiratory rate, heart rate

examples of symptoms

nause, “I don’t feel good”

what is a syndrome?

collection of s/s indicative of a specific disease or disorder

collection of traits associated with some kind of condition

what is differential diagnosis?

process of differentiating between 2 or more conditions which share similar signs or symptoms

trying to narrow it down to a definite daignosis

examples of screening for health and disease

current H&P

hemodynamics

body fluid tests (blood, urine)

radiographic imaging

tissue samples

genetic testing

electrical activity

metabolic testing

what is reliability?

ability to give the same results in repeated measurements (another term for consistency)

what is validity?

measures what it is supposed to measure

what is sensitivity?

ability to detect presence of X even at very low levels

what is a high sensitivity?

low false negative rate

what is a low sensitivity?

false negatives are more likely to occur (rapid strep test)

what is specificity?

ability to test for specified substance

what is a low specificity?

false positives (traditional throat culture)

why do we often not use the “gold standard” of testing?

not always available (ex: stroke)

what are the stages of disease process?

exposure

latent

prodromal

acute

convalescence

what stages are subclinical and clinical?

subclinical: exposure, latent

clinical: prodromal, acute, convalescence

feature of the exposure period

may determine severity

features of the latent period

incubation

no s/s

features of the prodromal period

first s/s

features of the acute period

maximum severity

features of the convalescence period

recovery period

may not get back to their baseline but a new baseline (ex: stroke)

what does acute mean?

relatively short duration

s/s may be severe

what does chronic mean?

lasts months to years

s/s may be subtle

what does sequela mean?

condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury

what does exacerbation mean?

acute development or increase in severity of s/s

what does remission mean?

decline or disappearance of s/s

treatment options considerations

evidence-based practice

risk versus benefit

availability

individual choice

what is epidemiology?

study of disease patterns within populations

what is an endemic?

constantly present in a population or region, with relatively low spread

what is an epidemic?

sudden increase in cases spreading through a large population

what is a pandemic?

sudden increase in cases across several countries, continents, or the world

what are the levels of prevention?

primary

secondary

tertiary

what is the goal of primary prevention?

health promotion and addressing risk factors, social and genetic factors

who is the target population for primary prevention?

for the well population

examples of primary prevention

legislation and enforcement

education

immunization

what is the goal of secondary prevention?

screen of at-risk individuals, control of risk factors, and early intervention

who is the target population for secondary prevention?

for people at risk of a health problem

examples of secondary prevention

regular exams and screening tests

diet and exercise programs

pharmaceuticals

work modification

what is the goal of tertiary prevention?

rehabilitation, preventing complications, and improving quality of life

who is the target population of tertiary prevention

for people with a health problem

examples of tertiary prevention

cardiac or stroke rehab programs

chronic disease management programs

support groups

vocational rehab programs