COPD is almost always caused by smoking. Over time, breathing tobacco smoke irritates the airways and destroys the stretchy fibers in the lungs.
COPD is often a mix of two diseases:
- Chronic bronchitis. In chronic bronchitis, the airways that carry air to the lungs (bronchial tubes camera.gif) get inflamed and make a lot of mucus. This can narrow or block the airways, making it hard for you to breathe.
- Emphysema. In a healthy person, the tiny air sacs in the lungs are like balloons. As you breathe in and out, they get bigger and smaller to move air through your lungs. But with emphysema, these air sacs are damaged and lose their stretch. Less air gets in and out of the lungs, which makes you feel short of breath.
The main symptoms are:
- A long-lasting (chronic) cough.
- Mucus that comes up when you cough.
- Shortness of breath that gets worse when you exercise.
Nursing Diagnosis and Nursing Intervention for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
1. Ineffective Breathing Pattern related to shortness of breath, mucus, bronchoconstriction and airway Irritants.
Goal:
Improvement of breathing patterns
Nursing Intervention for COPD
- Teach client diaphragmatic breathing exercises and breathing lips sealed.
- Give encouragement to intersperse activity with periods of rest. Let the patient make decisions about treatment based on patient tolerance level.
- Give encouragement to use the muscles of breathing exercises if required.
2. Ineffective Airway Clearance related to bronchoconstriction, Increased sputum production, ineffective cough, fatigue / decreased energy and bronkopulmonal infection.
Goal:
Achieving client airway clearance
Nursing Intervention for COPD
- Give the patient 6 to 8 glasses of fluid per day unless there is Cor pulmonale.
- Teach and give the use of diaphragmatic breathing and coughing techniques.
- Assist in the provision of a nebulizer action, measured dose inhalers.
- Perform postural drainage with percussion and vibration in the morning and at night as required.
- Instruct patient to avoid irritants such as cigarette smoke, aerosols, temperature extremes, and smoke.
- Teach about the early signs of infection should be reported to your doctor immediately: increased sputum, change in color of sputum, sputum viscosity, increased shortness of breath, chest tightness, fatigue.
- Give antibiotics as required.
- Give encouragement to patients to immunize against influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
