Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a term used for people who have chronic bronchitis, emphysema or both. It occurs when someone has obstructed expiratory airflow from the lungs. The most common cause of COPD is smoking. Symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. The most important COPD treatment is to stop smoking.
- A cough is usually the first symptom. Initially it tends to occur sporadically but gradually becomes more persistent (chronic). Can be misinterpreted that cough as ‘smoker’s cough’, in the early stages of the disease.
- Dyspnea or difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath may occur initially in some specific activities, for example in climbing a ladder. These symptoms tend to worsen gradually year by year and if continue smoking. The difficulty in breathing may worsen considerably.
- Mucus. The air vents are damaged produce much more mucus than it normally. Thereby increasing the amount of daily sputum production.
- Respiratory infections are more common in COPD. Wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath may worsen some respiratory infection. Sputum are usually yellow or green color.
COPD Treatments:
Stopping smoking is the most important
treatment. The patients may not need any other treatment if the
condition is in the initial stages the symptoms are mild. These COPD
treatments cannot cure COPD completely. The therapy aims to retreat and
relief of symptoms. Also, some treatments can prevent some exacerbations
of symptoms. As a general rule, a trial period of 1-3 months for a cure
can show if this helps or not. Treatment may be continued after the
trial period if it helps to be stopped or not improve the condition of
symptoms.
- Inhalers with short-acting bronchodilators
- Inhalers with long-acting bronchodilators
- Inhaler corticosteroid
- Tablets bronchodilators
- Tablets with corticosteroids
- Mucolytic drugs
- Continuous Oxygen
- Surgical lung volume reduction
Treatment of exacerbations should be
done in a hospital, depending on the severity of the patient’s overall
condition and developing respiratory acidosis, by the branches of
pulmonary or intensive care units. Recently it is gaining popularity in
attempts to treat COPD exacerbations in patients with severe disease who
did not develop respiratory failure in the home. Such treatment may
have a positive medical aspects and economic considerations, but still
has no strict guidelines on which patients could be eligible for
treatment at home. This possibility therapy has not found wide
application.
Drug is the first choice of patients
with exacerbations of COPD is oxygen. It is served with a mustache or a
Venturi mask however this may be well tolerated by the patient. The flow
is selected so as to obtain a reduction of hypoxemia (recommended
oxygenation – partial pressure of oxygen of> 60 mmHg, or the
saturation of O 2 > 90%). It is advisable to carry out an arterial
oxygen before and after 1 hour. For rapid bronchodilation such as
short-acting, inhaled beta-agonists, such as salbutamol is good. In the
absence of it the patients can second-line drug such as
anticholinergics.
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