Science Research AssignmentCOPDMark Raniel CresencioSNC2D1Mrs. FarlieJune 4, 2018180753133351400COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
It is a respiratory disorder largely caused by smoking and characterized by progressive, partially reversible airflow obstruction, systemic manifestations, and increasing frequency and severity of exacerbation (making it worse). To understand COPD, we must know how the lungs work. The air we breathe in travels down our trachea (windpipes) into the tubes in the lungs called bronchial tubes. Along the bronchial tubes are thinner tubes called the bronchioles and ends with tiny air sacs called alveoli.
These tiny air sacs allow the exchange of oxygen to carbon dioxide and is later breathe out of the lungs. The air sacs and airways are elastic, so when we breathe in, every air sac fills up like a balloon and when we breathe out, it deflates. In COPD, the airways and air sacs lose their elasticity, many walls between air sacs are destroyed, the airway walls become thick and inflamed and the airways are obstructed due to over production of mucus in them.Signs/symptoms: cough or ongoing cough that produces a lot of mucus (smoker’s cough). Shortness of breath (usually after doing physical activity), wheezing or squeaky sound (due to the mucus blocking the airways), and chest tightness (can often happen around the same time as shortness of breath and wheezing).
4752473119329800The main risk factor for COPD is smoking. Other risk factor is environmental factors (exposure to harmful pollutants in workplace such as chemicals, dust, or fumes, and long-term contact with second hand smoking). People who are more susceptible to getting this disease are people that has prolonged exposure to these harmful pollutants in the workplace and can also be developed from independent usage of cigarette smoking.The diagnosis of COPD is typically suspected based on reported symptoms and confirmed by spirometry (measures the airflow that travels in and out of the lungs to measure how your lungs are functioning). Chest x-ray or a chest CT scan, and an arterial blood gas test that measures the oxygen level in the blood by using a sample of blood taken from an artery.The treatments for COPD are lifestyle changes (quit smoking and avoid lung irritants), medical treatments (such as bronchodilators and a combination bronchodilator plus inhaled glucocorticosteroids (steroids), vaccines (flu shots and pneumococcal vaccine), pulmonary rehabilitation (exercise program, nutritional and psychological counseling), oxygen therapy (treatment in which oxygen is delivered through nasal prongs or a mask), and lung volume reduction surgery (removal of damaged tissue in the lungs), and lung transplant. The prognosis of COPD slowly worsens over time, especially if you continue to smoke.
People who have COPD, are more likely to have lung infections. If the lungs are severely damaged, the heart may be affected as well. A person with COPD eventually dies when the lungs and heart are unable to function and get oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues, or when a complication, such as a severe infection, occurs.
Based on research, there are eighty technologies. These included 31 biomarkers (based on blood samples, alternative samples included sputum, bronchial aspirate and innovatively, saliva and volatile organic compounds from breath samples for the diagnosis of COPD), 21 telehealth technologies, 6 wearable technologies (to monitor stable COPD through devices worn either across the chest or on the wrist), 6 imaging technologies, 4 vital sign monitors (monitor respiratory rate), 4 questionnaires (to know the patient’s smoking history and symptoms and for early diagnosis), 3 spirometers and 5 additional other technologies. ReferencesNormal Lungs and Lungs With COPD. (n.
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