Asthma Impaired Gas Exchange

Physiological Processes

Gas exchange occurs because of the body’s involuntary response to breathe in response to: exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen, deliver oxygen to tissues and to regulate acid-base concentrations in the bloodstream. The air travels into the nose, down the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveolar sacs then to the pulmonary capillaries. Froom the pulmonary capillaries hemoglobin picks up the oxygen molecules and travels through the arteries in the body to deliver the oxygen while picking up carbon dioxide and delivering it to the lungs through the veins and the process repeats. Since my patient has asthma along with a smaller diameter for air to pass through it causes severe inability to oxygenate the body during an asthma

The concepts that are directly related to impaired gas exchange are: acid- base balance, perfusion, mobility, growth/development and anxiety. All these concepts were an issue when the patient first presented into the hospital; once the asthma attack was resolved and respiratory status because within normal limits these concepts resolved themselves as well. Acid-base balance is effected because the patient is breathing so fast and the body is not being able to exchange gasses affectively so there is a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood than oxygen which illustrates as respiratory acidosis. Since there is decrease of oxygen in the blood the cells are not being perfused with adequate oxygen and then signs and symptoms of poor perfusion starts to be expressed. Then since the body is not being perfused well the cells and tissues do not have enough ATP to energize the cells which results in mobility issues. The mobility issues demonstrate in the patient since she got tired very easily and did not have energy to play. Also, another interrelated concept is growth and development because the patient is four years old and is still growing it is important that the body receives enough oxygen to supply the high demand for the body’s maturing features. Anxiety is also very inevitable for anyone going through an asthma attack, the body feels like it is being suffocated form lack of oxygen and the brain starts to go into fight or flight. With the patient being only four years old it is a very scary situation since she does not fully understand what’s going on and has a first reaction to want to scream and