NURSING 2NN3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Asthma
3 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
More than 3 million people in canada are living with chronic lung disease. Obstructive pulmonary diseases, the most common chronic lung diseases, include conditions characterized by increased airflow resistance as a result of airway obstruction or narrowing. This may result from accumulated secretions, edema, inflammation of the airways, bronchospasm of smooth muscle, or destruction of lung tissue, or some combination. Asthma is a chronic lung condition characterized by variable airflow obstruction caused by airway hyper-responsiveness and airway inflammation. A patient with asthma has variations in airflow over time, often with normal lung function between episodes of worsening symptoms. Copd (formerly known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis) is characterized by partially reversible airflow obstruction, lung hyperventilation, systemic manifestations, and exacerbations that increase in quench and severity as the disease processes. The limitation in expiratory airflow in patients with copd is generally more constant in the short term, but it worsens over time.
