Differences in the Psychopathology For Asthma Vs Pneumonia
Brian is a 7-year-old boy who presents to the primary care office with his mother. His mom has noticed that Brian has been coughing frequently and seems to have shortness of breath at times. She reports that Brian had a “cold” with a low grade fever and runny nose about 2 weeks ago and the symptoms seem to appear after the cold. On physical examination, Brian appears in moderate respiratory distress, with suprasternal and intercostal retractions. His vital signs include a temperature of 100 A°F, a respiratory rate of 32 breaths per minute, heart rate of 120 beats per minute, and pulse oximetry of 95% on room air. Lung exam is notable for diffuse symmetrical expiratory wheezes. His nasal mucosa is erythematous with boggy turbinates and clear mucus. The remainder of the exam is unremarkable. 1. Based on this case, discuss the differences in the pathophysiology for asthma vs pneumonia. Include your thougths as to the diagnosis for this case. Differences in the Psychopathology For Asthma Vs Pneumonia
ORDER A PLAGIARISM -FREE PAPER NOW
Nurses must have adequate knowledge of the pathophysiology of common respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and asthma to be able to make prompt diagnoses before initiating treatment. Asthma is a chronic respiratory illness whose prevalence and the incidence is higher in children. In childhood, asthma is more common among boys. It occurs following exposure to an allergen leading to inflammation of the airways particularly the bronchioles and bronchi. Inflammation increases the hyper-responsiveness of the airways and contraction of the surrounding smooth muscles (Bush, 2019). This subsequently results in the narrowing of the airways and the clinical symptom of wheezing. The most significant airway changes that occur are increased lamina thickening with eosinophils and increased mucus secretion. Other cells involved in the inflammatory response are macrophages, T lymphocytes, and neutrophils (Quirt et al., 2018). Other immune system components involved are histamines, cytokines, leukotrienes, and chemokines.
On the other hand, the pathophysiology of pneumonia usually begins with bacteria gaining entry into the lungs through the aspirations of small organisms that reside in the nose or throat. There are potentially serious bacteria residing in the throat at specific times and under specific conditions. According to Mizgerd (2017), other organisms reach the lungs after inhaling contaminated droplets while others can reach the lungs through the blood. In the lungs, the pathogens invade cellular and alveoli interspaces as neutrophils, macrophages, fight the bacteria. There is also activation of the immune system, which occurs when neutrophils release cytokines resulting in the symptoms of chills, fever, and fatigue, commonly presenting symptoms in patients with bacterial pneumonia (Sattar & Sharma, 2020). The consolidation seen on chest x-rays results from the accumulation of fluid, neutrophils, and bacteria from the surrounding blood vessels in the alveoli.Differences in the Psychopathology For Asthma Vs Pneumonia
References
Bush A. (2019). Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Asthma. Frontiers in pediatrics, 7, 68. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2019.00068
Mizgerd J. P. (2017). Pathogenesis of severe pneumonia: advances and knowledge gaps. Current opinion in pulmonary medicine, 23(3), 193–197. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCP.0000000000000365
Quirt, J., Hildebrand, K. J., Mazza, J., Noya, F., & Kim, H. (2018). Asthma. Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology: official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 14(Suppl 2), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13223-018-0279-0
Sattar, S. B. A., & Sharma, S. (2020). Bacterial pneumonia. StatPearls [Internet]. Differences in the Psychopathology For Asthma Vs Pneumonia