Respiratory System and Breathing Disorders

Smoking and Respiratory Health

• Passive smoking affects children similarly to active smoking in adults.
• Smoking, whether direct or passive, is a major risk factor for respiratory diseases.
• Initial diagnostic tools include chest X-rays and sputum cytology (examination of sputum).

Diagnostic Aids for Respiratory System

• Chest X-rays and sputum examination are primary diagnostic aids for respiratory issues.
• In cardiovascular diagnostics, blood analysis and ECG are typically the first steps.
• X-rays with dye injection are used in cardiovascular system to visualize blood vessel obstructions.
• For skeletal issues, X-rays are commonly used initially due to bone involvement.

Breathing Disorder Terminology

• Create lists of terms related to breathing disorders and pneumoconiosis for efficient review.

Breathing Disorder Terms

• Apnea: Easy or normal breathing, baseline for judging breathing disorders.
  • Normal range: 16-20 breaths per minute; average is 18.
• Tachypnea: Abnormally rapid respiration rate.
  • More than 20 breaths per minute.
• Bradypnea: Abnormally slow respiration rate.
  • Less than 10 breaths per minute.
• Apnea: Absence of spontaneous respiration.

Sleep Apnea Syndrome

• A group of potentially fatal disorders where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep.
• This causes a measurable decrease in blood oxygen levels.
• Snoring can be a symptom.
• Dangerous due to lack of oxygen, potentially leading to death during sleep.

Hyperventilation

• Abnormally rapid rate of deep respiration.
• $Respiration = Inhalation + Exhalation$
• Results in changes in blood gas levels, mainly oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
• Increased carbon dioxide levels in blood lead to acidity, altering blood pH.
• Internal respiration is affected due to decreased carbon dioxide levels in cells.

Cheyne-Stokes Respiration

• Pattern of alternating periods of hypopnea and apnea, followed by hyperpnea.
• Shows variation in respiration with phases of reduced, stopped, and increased breathing.

Dyspnea

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
• Frequently an initial symptom of heart failure, along with cyanosis.
• Can be caused by physical exertion or lung damage.
• Dyspnea at rest is more indicative of disease than dyspnea during exertion.

Hyperpenia and Hypopnea

• Hyperpnea: Increase in the depth of respiratory movement, often during exercise.
• Hypopnea: Shallow respiration.
• Eupnea: Normal breathing.

Review of Breathing Patterns

• Tachypnea: Rapid breathing (over 20 breaths per minute).
• Bradypnea: Slow breathing (less than 10 breaths per minute).
• Apnea: No breathing at all.
• Cheyne-Stokes: Alternating abnormal breathing patterns including tachypnea, bradypnea and apnea.

Hyperventilation vs. Hyperpnea

• Hyperpnea: Physiologic increase in breathing rate due to body requirements (e.g., exercise).
• Hyperventilation: Abnormal, rapid, deep breathing leading to changes in blood pH and acidity.

Lack of Oxygen and Medical Terms

• Airway obstruction prevents air from entering or leaving the lungs.
• Smoke inhalation damages lungs and alveoli and prevents normal gas exchange.

Hempelec Maneuver

• Used to expel foreign bodies from the airway.
• Procedure involves leaning the person forward, standing behind them, making a fist, and pressing into the stomach below the rib cage.
• Modifications exist for children and infants.

Respiratory Failure (Respiratory Acidosis)

• Condition where blood oxygen levels become dangerously low.
• High carbon dioxide levels lead to blood acidosis (low pH).

Anoxia

• Absence of oxygen from body gases, blood, or tissue.
• Irreversible brain damage can occur after 4-6 minutes of anoxia.

Hypoxia

• Condition of below-normal oxygen levels.
• Less severe than anoxia.
• Altitude hypoxia: Decreased oxygen in the air at high altitudes.

Hypoxemia

• Low oxygen concentration specifically in the blood.
• More specific than hypoxia.
• Hypoxia - general lack of oxygen in blood, tissues, or cells
• Hypoxemia - specifically low oxygen in the blood

Hypercapnia

• Abnormal buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood (indicated by "capn" in the term).

Asphyxia

• Body cannot get the air needed to function.
• Oxygen levels drop and carbon dioxide levels rise.
• Can lead to death or serious brain damage within minutes.

Asphyxiation (Suffocation)

• Interruption of breathing resulting in asphyxia.
• Causes include airway obstruction, drowning, or inhaling gases like carbon monoxide.

Cyanosis

• Bluish discoloration of the skin due to lack of adequate oxygen.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

• Sudden, unexplainable death of an apparently healthy infant during sleep.
• More common in babies who sleep on their stomach.
• Recommended that infants sleep on their back or side.

Diagnostic Procedures for the Respiratory System

• Respiration rate is an important vital sign.
  • Normal average range: 18 breaths per minute.
• Pulse Oximeter:
  • External monitor placed on finger or earlobe.
  • Measures oxygen saturation level in blood.
  • Normal reading: 95-100%.
• Spirometry:
  • Noninvasive test where a patient breathes into a device measuring airflow, breath length, and air volume.
• Peak Flow Meter:
  • Handheld device used to measure how quickly someone can expel air.
• Pulmonary Function Tests:
  • Tests measuring the lungs' capacity to hold air, move air in and out, and exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.
• Phlegm vs. Sputum:
  • Phlegm: Thick mucus secreted by respiratory passages.
  • Sputum: Phlegm ejected through the mouth.
• Polysomnography:
  • Measures physiological activity during sleep to evaluate sleep apnea.
• Bronchoscopy:
  • Visual examination of the bronchi using a bronchoscope.
  • Bronchoscope: flexible fiber optic device.
• Tuberculosis (TB) Test
  • Injecting antigen to check immune system reaction.
  • PPD (Purified Protein Derivative) is more accurate.
  • Check results reaction 2 - 3 days to confirm diagnoses.